Falling into the Abyss
by Chang-Tong
Summary: Samantha wasn't a fighter, nor has she ever been taught to survive. She was just a typical sheltered highschool student who likes to play games for fun, yet she was forced to go through the events of the ToA world and take up lessons on both for her own sake, or else die there. A Self-Insert fic. On Hiatus.
1. Prologue

***Headdesk* Yep, I'm actually doing it. A Self-Insert… how unoriginal, right? But ****I want to try to capture the realistic parts of a SI fic, so I'm keeping my character from being Mary-Suish. You all can breathe a sigh of relief now. XDD ****But, if you notice that any time my character becomes Mary-Suish, feel free to point it out to me. I appreciate constructive criticism, too. Just give this fic a chance, alright?**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Tales of the Abyss, or its characters and locations. I only own my SI character here.**

**August 24 2012: CHAPTER ONE RE-WRITTEN.**

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**Prologue**

Ever had one of those days where you look in the mirror for a moment, pause, and get a sudden random bout of mild depression? This was one of those moments for me.

Really, I'm being so weird, I know. I was fine just a minute earlier, albeit peeved that my internet connection had decided to have a seizure and give out on me. Just now, I had exited my bathroom after relieving myself, and I was in the process of washing my hands when I happened to look up in the mirror and see the girl staring back at me.

Dyed auburn hair that fell and ended past my shoulder blades and covering my forehead just above my brown eyes, and really fair skin that was the end result of being cooped up indoors almost all the time. I was never as outgoing or self-confident or social as my younger sister, who is the polar opposite of me. Which was why she's currently out at a party and I'm being more than happily content being the typical nerd. Yes, I'm proud of being a nerd. Watching animes, playing games, reading manga and chatting with internet friends is more than enough to keep me satisfied and happy. Pfft, people may say I have no life, but I do. I'm just one of more reserved people out there. Heh.

It's no lie. I really am happy with my life, however mundane it may be. Besides, I have no right to complain or be ungrateful when I'm fully aware that there are kids and even adults also out there who would die to be in my shoes right now. I'm well-fed, properly sheltered and educated and even am in the possession of luxury goods like playstation consoles, gameboys and whatnot since my family's well-off. Plus, my family's pretty stable. Sure there were a few trivial arguments here and there, but nothing too damaging that can't be apologized for and forgiven.

I sound spoiled, don't I? That's fine, for all I really know, I probably am. But really, I'm lucky for having such a wonderful and healthy lifestyle. I never forgot that. I never was ungrateful, and I sure as hell never bitched or moaned about something as minor as the total lack of BFFs or a broken mp3 player. Oh, I get seriously irked in the latter case, of course, but I never outright complained about it. Just get it replaced or fixed, or even just resort to go to Youtube for music. Problem solved.

And in the former case, I'm used to being a loner already. I've been one for years now. Guys more or less ignore me because they think I'm a prude- and they're right, I admit- and the girls at my school seemed insistent on disliking me for some reason, probably because I don't talk much and am not much of an 'out there' girl as well as the fact that I'm a 'goody goody'. And I'm fine with that, really, because if they don't like me for a trivial reason, then they probably won't be good friends anyway. Better having no friends at school instead of hanging out with shallow girls, I believe. So really, I'm fine about it. I'm used to it, I'm over it a long time ago. I'm actually happy being alone, truly, even if my mom gave me hard time about it.

So me suddenly feeling empty and depressed all of a sudden came as a surprise. Surely it can't be because of the lack of internet connection? I mean, that will be fixed in due time. There were times it goes on and off every once in a while.

And the reason then hit me, and I was left feeling disgusted at myself. I know _exactly _why I felt this way, but really, I only have _myself _to blame for 'that'. I'd rather not mention what 'that' is, because I'm still bitter at myself for 'that'. It's nothing scarring though, and I'm sure one would rather not hear about it unless otherwise, I'm sure. More reasons not to think about it.

'That', and it's also because I'm so spoiled, my life felt like it could _never_ be enough. Because I'm such a spoiled brat that's used to getting what she wants, I'll always want some things I know I can never get.

A change in my mundane and repetitive life. Something exciting, something with actual meaning to it, so maybe I can actually feel _alive_ instead of a robot going through the same thing over and over.

Oh, _great_, just… _fucking_ great. See? I basically just called my life meaningless and boring when it isn't. Is this how I return my parents and their hard work to give me the good living environment I'm having today? By feeling ungrateful? Really, I'm horrible. How immature of me to even entertain such thoughts. I won't be surprised if a third party from the outside hated me for having such thoughts. I know I would, and that would be so damn hypocritical of me.

It's wrong, I know. And because I'm wrong, I pushed it away and decided to go to my room and play a game to distract me from such gloomy thoughts. I'm currently, as my dad's at work and my mom's out shopping, so the flat that we live in feels quiet. Before I head over to my bedroom, I look out the window to our backyard to see if Q-Q and Chloe are up for a walk. The two dogs were both asleep though, and I didn't want to wake them.

After I entered the bedroom I shared with my sister, I made my way over to where the playstation 2 console was set up and skimmed through the many games I have in my possession. Eventually, I picked Tales of the Abyss out from the stack, as I'm feeling up to continuing my second playthrough and getting the sidequests I missed the first time.

The game disk was placed in the console and was being loaded up. I was seated on a computer chair that I have moved in front of the television, since the only couch in my bedroom was a long plush couch that's meant to be used when watching the television here. Already, I felt the familiar sense of simple happiness starting to wrap around me as I listened to Bump Of Chicken's Kama being played. Bump of Chicken… rather a strange name for a band, don't you think? Even till now, I haven't gotten over how silly it is. But, hey, whatever works for them, right?

As I tapped my fingers against my knee in accordance to how the singer sung, around near the end, I heard both Q-Q and Chloe barking loudly all of a sudden. I frowned, listening to them. Though I have heard them bark before, this is the first _ever_ that the of them that _both _dogs are barking simultaneously with equal intensity, as if alarmed and angry. Not even a cat that climbed over the wall or a repair guy that came over made the both of them bark at the same time.

My curiosity piqued at what could be so alarming to get both dogs to bark, I placed the controller that I was holding onto on the tiled floor and made my way towards the sliding glass door that led to our backyard.

"Ah. What? Why are you two barking?" I casually called out after sliding the door open.

The last thing I remembered after that were my two dogs- with their fur standing completely up on end- charging in my direction as a shadow suddenly dropped down right in front of me from above and feeling something hard and heavy crash down onto my head and making my entire world explode into bright stars before going completely dark. And I thought no more.

* * *

_I finally found you._

* * *

Pain…

Ow… my head…

I felt myself becoming awake as soon as I became painfully aware of the harsh throbbing in my head. Since my eyes were still closed, my world was still pitch black. I heard myself groan, clenching my hands into fists.

I should have closed my windows. The sound of those chirping birds were really grating on my nerves, making my headache feel worse. …Wait… did I open my windows anytime at all today? I don't… I don't remember at all…

Now that I'm a bit more aware, it felt like I'm lying on something soft. My bed? Oh, wait… don't tell me I ended up at a hospital. That would explain the open windows, because I can now remember that I haven't opened them at all today.

Damn… I must have given my mother, my father, or my sister- whichever one of them was the one who found me- quite a scare. Hell, I know I would be scared if I found someone lying unconscious on their bedroom floor.

"Are you alright?" I heard from somewhere above. Wait… was that a guy, or a girl? I couldn't tell in my current state. Plus, they sounded too young to be someone working at a hospital... maybe I'm sharing a room with another patient?

I felt two gentle fingers pressing against the side of my throat to check for a pulse, I believe. I would have told the child that I was awake and alike, but my mouth felt like dry cotton.

I didn't want to wake up yet. Maybe if I stayed quiet, the kid would leave me be once he realizes that I'm not dead. I felt sore all over, and the throbbing pain in my head still bothers me. Once I'm feeling good enough to even _stand_, I'll get up.

The fingers pulled away, and I felt a soft hand touching my shoulder before giving it a shake. "Miss? Miss? Are you awake? It's not safe here, the monsters would get you. You need to get up."

Monsters? In the hospital? Ah, I see. This kid's playing pretend, is he? I have to admit, they are good at playing pretend, because the worry in their voice actually sounded genuine. Still, they are rather insistent. They continued to shake my shoulder in order to try and get me to 'wake up'.

"Mi-"

"Mm… I'm up, I'm up…" I muttered, groaning and pressing a hand to my forehead with a hiss. "My head… ow…"

I felt the same gentle hands holding onto my shoulders to help me sit up, and I reluctantly opened my eyes slowly before blinking once, twice, and a few more times.

…What…? What the hell…? This isn't a hospital. I… am I actually outdoor?

The first thing I noticed is green. Literally. Green everywhere. Thick foliage, weeds, bushes, plants and grass everywhere. Tree trunks surround the area, also green in color, coated in moss of even a darker green. There was the occasional vine hanging off from one tree to another, and I distinctly could hear the soft sound of rushing water. A river, perhaps?

"I'm… in… a forest…?" I voiced my thoughts aloud, as if I could confirm if this was all real by asking. No… "…Just a dream…"

"No, you're quite awake now," the voice that I heard from earlier said to me. This time, they sounded from right next to me. "I'm glad. You're in Cheagle Woods, do you remember now?"

"Wh… Cheagle… Woods…?" I asked incredulously. Despite my disbelief, I couldn't seem to find my voice to sound as shocked as I felt inside. Even through my foggy state of mind, I recognized that name.

_But… that's… I'm in…?_

No… no, no, no, no, no… Cheagle Woods only existed in a game. It wasn't real at all. It's only a fictional location in a fictional game world. A game that I occasionally played. That's it, I'm dreaming. Yeah, just a weird dream; not like I never had a dream like this before, anyway. It's not real at all.

I suddenly winced when a spike of pain pierced through my already pounding head, and I grabbed it with both my hands; squeezing my eyes shut tightly. "Ow, ow, ow… hurts too much… too real… damn it…"

I felt a comforting hand resting on my shoulder. "Perhaps you should take a gel? I believe I have some. Do you need one?"

I took in a deep breath, and slowly opened my eyes again before turning to face the owner of the voice. "No… it's only a headache. It'll… go… away…?"

My words died in my throat as I blanched, and my eyes widened when I finally got a good look at the person next to me.

I let out a loud shriek and abruptly pushed away from the person that held me; shocking them as their eyes widened in alarm. Not really thinking, I scrambled as far as I could away, eyes wide and my mouth open in a gape as I stared at the person like he was a ghost.

Wide, leafy-green eyes stared at me in shock and surprise. Equally leafy-green bangs fell against their forehead, with two long ponytails tied on either side of their head. They were wearing a pale-green coronation dress along with a hairband with giant cotton balls hanging from the side, with stockings of the same color underneath as well as gold-colored shoes. A golden necklace in the shape of a tuning fork hung from their neck, resting against their chest. They were also clutching a golden rod that was also in the shape of a tuning fork.

Fon Master Ion blinked for a moment, before standing up from where he had been kneeling on the grass. "Is something wrong?"

No... way... No way, no way, no way! It can't be! No way in hell could this be possible. How could something like this be so real!? It can't be true, it just can't be true!

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**Well, there's the prologue. What do you think so far? It would make me happy if you click the review button on your way out. ;)**


	2. Cheagle Woods

**Yeah! Here's the second chapter! Thanks to all those who have reviewed the last chapter! :DD Reviews help me know how my story is going so far, plus they make me happy.**

**DISCLAIMER: Okay, I'll say this one last time now, so read carefully! I own nothing in this fic except my SI character.**

**August 25 2012: CHAPTER TWO RE-WRITTEN**

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**Welcome to Auldrant**

Dear the little something that everyone knows as 'Life'. I'm going to begin this mental prayer of mine by thanking you for making me one of the lucky girls out there that has a home and a stable, well-off family that could get me the food, education, entertainment and the lessons on how to be a decent person I needed. I truly am grateful to you in that department and that will never change. Now, though while I appreciate you answering my earlier thoughts on giving me more excitement, this was _NOT _what I had in mind!

So because of that, _**screw**__ you_! If this is some kind of joke you're playing on me, it's _not fucking funny!_

We must have been quite the sight, just staring at each other with wide eyes. Both of us were not saying anything, as we both were waiting for the other to make the first move.

A dream. I was so convince that this was just a realistic dream that I was experiencing right now despite the convincing pain in my head. Pinching and twisting a patch of flesh on my arm, even going so far as to dig a nail into it, I was eventually forced to admit that yes… somehow… _somehow _the entire thing is real. I wasn't imagining that I'm in the middle of a very green forest with someone who was supposed to be a fictional character standing across from me, staring worriedly at how I'm abusing my left arm.

Resisting the urge to go over to Ion to touch his cheeks and prove to myself that he's indeed actually a real person made of flesh and blood like me, I bit my bottom lip and looked away as I stood up. I could give him an automatic apology and walk off towards a random direction.

"Miss? Wait!" I heard footsteps running up behind me as _Fon Master Ion _followed me from behind. "Where are you going?"

"Home," I found myself answering in all honesty. This is too crazy, but it can't be unsolvable, right? If somehow I found myself from Earth to… to _Auldrant_, then that must mean that there's a way back. Maybe if I found whatever that led from Earth to this forest and hop into it, I'll be back home, and pretend that none of this has ever happened.

"Where's that?" Ion asked. Dammit, I wanted him to go away. I didn't want to look at him. Seeing someone like him is only cold hard proof that all of this is real. If I accept him, then that would mean accepting this person and this place are all _real_. The _entire damn gam_e is _real._

My mind was still dead set on refusing to accept what I have known a long time to be fictional as reality.

I shouldn't answer this kid- no, this _illusion_. I will not accept hi- _it _as real. I won't accept it, I _refuse _to accept it, I will _never _accept it, dammit!

"Miss?" _it _asked again, and… and… dammit, don't sound so worried. Don't sound so hurt. Don't keep following me as I walk away. You're not supposed to cause a tug at my heartstrings with your voice alone from how badly I'm treating you and… and… _DAMN it all!_

Against my better judgment, I felt my resolve breaking like glass into a hundred pieces as I stopped in place, sigh, and turn to face Ion. His wide leaf-green eyes that was filled with so much confusion and worry and warmth and a certain amount of innocence that made him look so _so real _and so _so human _felt like a strong punch to my defensive wall of doubt. It shouldn't be so effective, but somehow, it was hard enough to cause a dent in my wall and break a small part of it open for him to enter.

Dammit…

After quickly counting from one to ten just to make sure I stay calm, I took in a shaky breath, let it out as slowly, and then began to speak.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again, managing to make this one sound more genuine than the one I callously threw out before. "Um…"

I brought a hand up to my mouth as I quickly searched for an excuse to explain my behavior. Ugh, I shouldn't be explaining myself to him and I'll probably doubt it later, but… when Ion looked at me with those big eyes, and when I remembered that he was the one who helped me just moments earlier, I felt like I owe him an explanation, at the very least.

Screaming right into someone's face is not something to be proud of, after all. …Now that I thought about it, it's actually very embarrassing. I could only hope that I'm not blushing right now, though I probably am, if the light heat I felt on my face is any indication.

"I… I didn't mean to panic. It's just that-" immediately finding a good lie in my mind to use, I quickly grasped on to it and continued, "-you… you really remind me of someone I know. Someone who's… um… dead."

I suppose that's the half-truth, considering that he died later on in the game.

…The half-truth? Why won't I just tell him the truth? But then again, I could already imagine how THAT will turn out…

_"Oh, I was just at my house back on a planet called Earth when I decided to play a game called Tales of the Abyss, which stars you and many others as the main fictional characters. By the way, do you want to know the other spoilers of the game other than the fact that you're going to die?"_

…not something that could just be believed like that. As nice as Ion was, I don't think he'll appreciate me more or less saying that his life, action and even personality- among many others- were all predetermined, false and created just for the sake of entertainment. I know that if someone were to tell ME that, I would give them a hard slap and then scream at them for acting arrogant. Even if it's the truth, I'm not that cruel… even if I'm still trying to make sense of all this on top of the headache that still did not fade away.

I'm somehow in a fictional world with a fictional character in front of and talking to me. That kind of thing just shouldn't happen: it's all kinds of impossible! As it is, I don't know _what _is going the hell on here and _how _the hell it happened or even _why _it happened now to me. Even as I said all of that to Ion, I'm still wrapping my head around it all, and thus, our conversation still had that surreal feeling to me.

As I reached up to play with the ends of my hair with the hand that was over my mouth- a nervous habit of mine that I've never really gotten rid of- the worry that was on Ion's face faded away to be replaced with a look of relieved understanding as his posture relaxed.

"Oh, is that true?" he asked, smiling. "I'm so sorry for startling you, then. Oh!" Looking as if he just remembered something, Ion's free hand rose up, and it was then that I noticed for the first time that he was holding onto a pair of rimmed gold-colored glasses.

My glasses. One of the lens were, however, cracked. I'm not a blind person, and though I could still see things clearly, I do need glasses for far distances and for when I'm on the computer and playing games. If I'm sitting at the very back of a classroom, I won't be able to see the writing on the board, and plus, I usually squint at the typed writing on a computer screen. That's how bad my eyesight is without my glasses on.

As I accepted my glasses from him and stare down at them in dismay, Ion gave me a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry. I took them off from your face when I noticed they're broken. I hope I didn't offend you by taking them," he explained.

…

I could only stare at the young boy with my jaw slightly dropped, not believing what I just heard. Not only did he apologize for _me _screaming at _him_, but he's also apologizing for doing the sensible thing and taking off a pair of broken glasses from my face in order to avoid giving me the messed-up vision I would have should I keep them on. I'll be taking them off if I had the chance myself, so why was he acting like he's the guilty party? Does he honestly believe that he was in the wrong?

That… personality of his is going to make it more difficult for me to have a blasé attitude about him.

I decided to void my thoughts aloud. "You're apologizing? No, please don't. If anything, I'm the one who should be apologizing for scaring you… in which I already did."

As I folded up my glasses and placed them into my pocket, Ion asked another question. "Are you hurt?"

Am I? I gave myself a once over, just to make sure. Concluding that I wasn't hurt anywhere or have broken anything, I said, "No. I only have a minor headache. Don't worry about it."

"That's a relief." Ion was beaming now and, try as I might, I couldn't help but find the expression _adorable _on him. "I was worried that you were seriously injured when I found you lying unconscious here. Do you have business here in Cheagle Woods, too?"

Looks like I have no choice. I'm just going to go with the flow since it'll be much easier than struggling against my situation. I don't know what good that will do, but… that's what I'm about to do now. If I make up a lie and a backstory, I'll blend in with this world and stay safe without anyone asking me too many questions I'd rather not answer.

For now, I'll play along. While I'm at it, I'll keep my eyes peeled for the way back home, assuming its right here in Cheagle Woods.

Now… backstory… backstory... ah! I got one! Hopefully it's convincing enough to anyone I might have to tell it to.

"I was on my way to, um, Grand Chokmah," I lied, staring straight at Ion's forehead so I won't have to look into his eyes. "On the way there, somewhere close to here, I got mugged by a bandit. He caught me when I wasn't paying much attention, and kept me at knife-point. Told me he wouldn't hurt me unless I give him everything I had. And, well… I was scared, so I did."

The story I made up would explain why I don't have any traveling gear, supplies and weapon with me. I sighed, rubbing the back of my head in nervousness. "Then… as soon as I handed everything over and he let his guard down, I just ran like hell. I didn't want to risk him killing me, so, um… yeah. Ah… but since I don't have a map…"

"You just ran towards a random direction, and ended up here?" Ion guessed, tilting his head to the side.

When I looked at him more properly, he seemed to be taking everything in. I can't believe he actually believed my story, considering how quickly it was made up on the spot. But then again… didn't Anise once complain about Ion being naïve in the game? Even though I should take it as my good fortune, I actually felt bad for lying to him. He's too good of a kid, really.

"Yeah. I guess I tripped and landed on my head, knocking myself out. Yeah, that's… pretty much what happened. Pretty embarrassing, huh?" I finished, letting out a shaky breath and attempting to look embarrassed with a wane smile.

For all I know, there could be many loopholes in my backstory, but it's really the best one I got at the moment. I bet that if I met someone like, say, Jade first… he would see straight through my lie, and would know straight off that I'm hiding something. Well, too late to change it now. It'll be suspicious if Ion told him one story and I then gave him another… assuming if I'll still be around then, of course. Still, maybe it'd be best if I thought more about my backstory if I wanted to make it believable.

…Speaking of that, I don't have a weapon. What should I do if we encounter any monsters? I stared warily at our surrounding, hoping against all odds that we don't stumble across any.

"My… my weapons were also in my bag when I handed it over to that thief," I said in a low voice. "I don't know what to do if we get into a fight with a monster."

Ion's eyebrows flew up, before looking over to the rest of the forest as if trying to figure out what to do now that he has an unarmed female with him. I can't believe I have to rely on him for protection, but… what else can be done? His artes were powerful, but casting even one would cause him to fall over in fatigue.

Shit… maybe I should grab a tree branch and some stones or something, just so I don't feel useless and actually have a little better chance at defending myself. I think I'll forgive myself if I had to use Ion as a human shield for myself and he ended up getting hurt as a result for my own sake. He had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment.

"Well…" Ion started to say. "I definitely can't let you go all by yourself, especially since you don't have a weapon. I'll do my best to look after you, and take you to Engeve; the closest town here. It's the best I can do, so will that be okay?"

He looked over to me again, looking somewhat apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I need to do something here first. Would it be too much trouble if I ask you to come with me for a while? I promise it won't take too long."

I shook my head, smiling reassuringly at him. "It's no problem. It would be wrong if I just ask you to take me there, only for you to come all the way back here soon after you drop me off. I don't want to waste your time. It's fine, really. Just point out a sturdy-looking tree branch to me, and I'll cope somehow."

Ion shot me a grateful look. "Oh, thank you very much. Because I really wanted to know what the cheagles here are doing, and why they were stealing food from Engeve."

I'm not supposed to know this, aren't I? I'm supposed to be a lost traveler who just recently got mugged, so I better stick to my role. I made myself look confused as Ion started to lead me further into the forest. "Stealing food? What do you mean?"

"Recently, the people of Engeve had gotten some of their food supply stolen," Ion explained, holding his rod in front of him. As I walked next to him, the first thing I immediately noticed that Ion and I were almost the same height, with him being only an inch taller than me. That's kind of shocking. How old was he again? Fifteen? Even though I'm older than him by being seventeen-years-old, I'm at the often considered short height of five-foot-three. Hey, it's an Asian chick thing, alright? I'm Thai!

When I was about to pass any, I scooped up as many stones as I could hold in one hand. Since we could get attacked at any time by monsters, I'm feeling rather uneasy about our walk. Hopefully, a stone to the face would be enough to faze them and buy us enough time to outrun them.

"I took a look around in their food storage, and I found a tuft of fur that belongs to a cheagle, so I believe they're the ones responsible for all the thefts that occurred. I came here to find out why they're doing all this: they have more than enough plans and grass to eat here."

I nodded to show that I understood, even though I already know what's going on over at Engeve right about now. Ah, but I need to stick to my story, so I need to pretend that I didn't know anything at all.

"I'm sorry, I believe I didn't get your name yet," Ion said. "I'm Ion, the Fon master of the order of Lorelei."

"I'm Samantha Loy," I said, giving him a smile. "But call me Sam for short if you want."

The sound of rustling in the foliage behind us caught our attention, and I saw Ion tensing up from his place next to me as we both turned to look over our shoulders. The sound of growls reached my ears, and I pulled one of the stones I picked up with my other hand. I held with a fist so tight that my knuckles turned white, and my arm tensed in preparation to throw.

"Wolves," Ion murmured, clutching his rod even tighter when three grey-furred, black-stripped wolves slowly came out from the bushes ahead of us, their sharp canines barred at us with saliva dripping from the roof of their mouths.

I felt my heart start to beat faster at the sight of them, and I found myself start to breathe even faster as well. Inside, I was already panicking.

_Oh god, oh god, these are monsters, real live monsters that could rip my apart and probably even eat me alive, oh god, I never fought before, we're gonna die, oh god I only have stones to back me up, what should we do-!?_

"D-Do you think… we could o-outrun them… or something…?" I stammered quietly and pathetically to Ion, whose leaf-green eyes were narrowed at the creatures in front of us. No point in pretending, we're both out of our league here.

"I think-" before he could even finish his sentence, I shrieked when one of the wolves had already performed a flying leap towards us, quickly throwing a stone straight at its face in midair and causing it to yelp and crash against the floor we both were previously standing on had we not backpedaled. I threw another stone at the wolf before us, and luck seemed to be on my side today as it caught the blasted thing right in the eye.

"_GO!_ Fuck _GO!_" I then screamed as I grabbed Ion by the shoulder while the wolf was momentarily fazed, spinning him around and started pulling him along by the arm as I bolted from the area. Though stumbling only once, he quickly picked up the pace and started to run alongside me. Behind us, I could hear ferocious barking and guttural growls as well as swift feet padding against the ground as the wolves gave chase. I did not dare turn around to see how far they were, only running as hard as I could while having a tight hold on Ion's arm enough to probably cut the blood circulation short. As Ion struggled to keep up with my quick speed, I found myself extremely grateful that I often took runs often back home as my main form of exercise, since it will probably be the thing that could save our lives today.

As we burst out into a wide circular clearing, Ion had accidentally tripped over a loose tree root and fell forward with a short cry, inadvertently pulling me back with him since I still had a grip on his arm. As I fell back first to the ground next to Ion- causing a shot of pain to run up my spine-, the stones I had been holding onto in my free had fell out and scattered across the forest ground, rolling away from reach.

"_You okay!?"_ I asked urgently as I pushed myself back up, the panic still obvious in my voice even to my own ears. If only I had a damn weapon to fend the wolves off with at least!

As he pushed his upper body from the ground, Ion nodded in answer to my question, panting a bit from the run. Just as he managed to sit up on his knees, a wolf suddenly jumped out from the foliage we just came from. Both Ion and I ducked down low on the ground as soon as we saw it leap, but the wolf only flew clear over our heads to land effortlessly on the other side: blocking our escape route that way. Soon, the two other wolves arrived as well, seemingly grinning in victory at the meal before them.

Yes… it's over. Not even an hour since I woke up and found myself away from home, and I'm already about to die. Well, I guess this is goodbye. If only I had a chance to say my last words to my family, but now… looks like my last words will be in the form of pained screams as the wolves rip my limbs apart with their sharp canines.

Just as I thought I was about to cry, I heard Ion's determined and fearless voice from his place by my side. "Looks like I have no choice. You might want to close your eyes, as this is going to be rather bright."

I looked over at him with wide eyes. "What?" What is he talking about?

He gave me a smile that's probably meant to be reassuring. "Don't worry. This won't hurt you because I already have you marked."

Marked? What?

…Wait. Isn't that a term in what one of the books in the game use when referring to friendly fire?

Just as I realized what he was about to do, Ion closed his eyes in what seemed like concentration as the wolves started to walk purposely towards us.

Ion then raised his free hand up in the air above his head, the palm of his hand holding onto what seemed to be a bright glowing ball of energy that seemed to get bigger with each heartbeat. Ion allowed the ball of energy in his raised hand to glow stronger for a second longer, and I watched mesmerized as bright runes surrounded the both us as well as the wolves. Just as the wolves launched themselves at us, Ion slammed his hand along with the ball of energy down onto the rune-inscribed ground beneath us.

When he did, a bright wall of glowing energy then enshrouded everything that happened to be inside the rune, and I squeezed my eyes shut in the fear that I might go blind from this spell. As I kept my eyes closed, I heard the wolves howl in pain before suddenly getting cut off as a sound that is similar to a miniature explosion followed… and everything was eerily silent once more.

I slowly opened my eyes, and I gaped at the areas where the wolves once stood just seconds earlier. They were no longer there, with the only thing left in their places and the sign that they had ever existed in the first place were small, smoky craters. Holy crap… that… was…

"It… it's done…" Ion said quietly, sounding a bit out of it.

"_Geez… wow_, Ion…" I breathed as he stood up, and I did the same as well when I noticed that he's wobbling. Ion took a shaky step forward, but then abruptly leaned to the side and looked upwards-

"_Watch out!"_ I exclaimed in alarm, my eyes widening as my arms quickly shot out to catch Ion by the shoulders as he started to fall backwards, allowing him to lean against me. I then allowed myself to sit again so Ion could lay down and take moment's rest to get back some of his wasted energy. "…Ion… thanks."

Even in his exhausted state, Ion still managed to give a smile that more or less screamed 'no problem' to me. Despite that, I was more worried at how pale his face had become when he had a healthy fairness to his skin prior to using his Daathic Fonic artes.

"I'm… going to assume you don't have any orange gels or anything with you at the moment?" I asked, already fearing the most likely answer that's to come out of his mouth… assuming he had the strength for even that.

It seemed that he doesn't however, for the green-haired boy only weakly shook his head in response as he closed his eyes and continued to breathe heavily.

"Thought I didn't need them," he managed to get out. "They're… all with A- my guardian…"

_For the love of- how can you be so naïve!? _Thankfully, I didn't say that aloud, but I did bite my lip in frustration at the kid for being so ill-prepared for a dangerous trip alone. It's unsurprising though, considering his character. But still, it's annoying especially when his health was at stake.

I wasn't sure if my thoughts reflected across my face or if Ion's just a good guesser, but he shook his head again. "I'm okay. Just give me a minute to recuperate?" I believe him, because he's already sounding a bit better. And I don't know why he worded his sentence into a question as if he needed my permission to rest or not, considering that he's technically a much higher rank than I am in this world. Still, I gave him a nod to let him know that he could rest as long as he needed.

"_HEY!" _A young male's voice suddenly called out as the sound of rushing footsteps rushed towards us. My eyes widened immediately when I recognized that voice… and the scene that was about to occur. Sure enough, my assumptions were proven to be correct when two certain people arrived at the scene, identical looks of panic and worry on their faces.

One of them was a beautiful and slender woman with a large bust made more prominent by the tight attire she wore. Her straight light-brown hair reached all the way to her lower waist and covering one of her blue eyes completely. She wore a sleeveless dark-brown, high-collared dress that reached to her knees, though the 'skirt' was cut up all the way up to her thighs in slits that seemed like a 'swallow-tail' design to me: probably so that she could run around more easily in it. Three pale-yellow vertical lines at the centre of her dress ran from the collar to the very bottom, making the dress seem to have the design of a violin. She wore matching gloves and boots that both ended with white tips, and long dark red socks that went past her knees, which were both wrapped with garter belts holding her throwing knives. In her right hand, she carries a staff with a sharp blade at the tip, which reminded me somewhat of a spear.

The other person was a lean male with green eyes, and long bright-red hair that reached all the way down to his tailbone. His bangs were spiky and nearly fell into his face. He wore a white coat with orange trimmings that exposes much of his stomach- showing off his six-pack abs- and he seemed to be wearing a black shirt or something underneath it. He wore black pants with brown, fingerless gloves that were wrapped around his wrists with a belt that was a lighter brown in color. Behind his waist, a sword's sheath was attached there; probably with help from his belt. Dark-red boots finished the entire outfit off.

Tear Grants and Luke fon Fabre: the main heroine and hero of the game respectively as well as future lovers.

As soon as they were right in front of us, after passing me a glance of curiosity, Tear immediately knelt down right in front of me to examine Ion's physical state. Her hands were out in a manner that showed that she's more than ready to heal if necessary.

"Hey, are you okay?" Luke asked with a frown. He was looking back and forth between Ion and I, as if wary that we're _both _going to faint from trauma or something. Or maybe he looked wary because of the way I'm staring at him and Tear, engraining their profiles deep into my mind even more so now that I was seeing them in the flesh instead of behind a television screen as pixels. I suppose I was in awe… starstruck even, I suppose. Who wouldn't be? I'm in the presence of two future heroes of the world here.

The full reality of my situation returned in full force now that I've met the two of them. Once again, like my meeting with Ion earlier, everything felt so surreal again. The pain I've gotten while here… from my headache, from my abuse on my own arm, from the fall I took earlier with Ion… all of those were telling me that no, I'm still not in a state of sleep where I'm dreaming this all up. This is all real, all so damn real, and I better believe it and accept it.

I almost didn't want to. I shouldn't accept it. But… with all the proof shown to me earlier… and with all the proof that were right in front of me now… do I have any reason to continue denying all this? Should I just accept it all after all? Continuing to deny it would be the same as lying to myself, wouldn't it?

Either way, my first priority is to find the way back home in this stupid forest. I need to continue to play along. I turned my attention back to Ion as he started to shift.

"I-I'm fine," Ion answered as he stood up with some help from both Tear and I. "I just used too strong a Daathic fonic arte…"

"Don't strain yourself," I told him quietly, letting go of his shoulders when I was sure he wasn't about to trip anytime soon. Though his energy was back, he still looked rather pale. Best to continue to keep at least one eye on him.

"Don't worry, I won't," Ion promised with a soft chuckle. "Thanks for your concern, though." It was then that Ion had finally gotten a good look at the two new arrivals. "Oh, you're the two from Engeve yesterday…"

"I'm Luke," Luke said in introduction. He didn't hold a hand out in the customary handshake like I'm used to see most people do, but kept them by his sides. I guess nobles in this world bow to each other in greeting? Or was Luke just that arrogant? Or was he just unused to doing it?

"Luke," Ion repeated, before giving the redhead a smile of agreement, "…that means 'light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian. That's a nice name."

From the way his face quickly went red, it was as if someone had swiped a blush of red powder at it. "Yeah, well-" clearly in an attempt to switch the attention from himself, he quickly looked over to me and pointed in an almost accusatory manner, "-who's the chick? Another one of those guardians of yours?"

Seeing as I still couldn't believe the hero of the game was talking to me, I quickly took in a deep breath and answered. "I'm Samantha."

Flicking his eyes over to the rest of my body, Luke raised an eyebrow at me. "You dress weird. Did you come from underground or something?" he asked with clear distaste.

…The awe I mentioned earlier when I met Luke and Tear? Yeah, it's gone now. It gave me a wave goodbye before jumping straight out of the window and running straight for the hills, leaving me alone with just my feelings of embarrassment and annoyance.

As Tear scolded him for his manners, I felt my face heat up as I self-consciously crossed my arms across my chest when I remembered what exactly it was I'm wearing. Out of all the times for these people to meet me, it just _had _to be on one of my 'dress down' days. As much as Luke had quickly gotten me irked with his blatant observation, I can't say that he was completely wrong on my current attire either. I had on a loose brown blouse that flared out below the bust line that covered much of my torso down to the waist. Along with that, I had on a pair of camouflage pants and my red indoor rubber sandals that had golden leaf designs in the interior, though no one would notice them unless I take my sandals off.

Not exactly something I would wear to go outside either seeing how unflattering it looked. But as usual, I didn't plan on going out when I was brought to this place, and hey- it's not like no one would see me, right? Oh, how I now regret that frame of thought. Well, it could be worse, I suppose. I could be wearing one of my cartoon T-shirts or a mini-skirt that showed off much of my legs. Though I felt only a little better at that thought, I still felt that I could somehow switch outfits right then and there.

"Please excuse him," Tear apologized to me. "He's not exactly the most kind of people."

"You're not so better off yourself," Luke retorted at the melodist, glaring at an innocent tree trunk some distance away with his arms crossed.

Tear let out a sigh before turning back to Ion, an air of polite formality now around her as she introduced herself. "I'm Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants. 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command."

I couldn't help but smile at that. "That greeting's quite a mouthful, don't you think?"

Tear faltered a bit at that, looking a little embarrassed. "Well… I believe that's the proper way to introduce myself to the Fon Master…"

I quickly waved a hand to reassure her. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm just joking, _joking_. Alright?"

Ion was staring at the melodist with wide eyes, looking pleasantly surprised. "Ah, you're Van's younger sister." Luke abruptly turned to face Tear with a look of shock at the revelation, his jaw hanging open. "I've heard of you. This is the first time we've met, isn't it?"

Still incredulous at what he just heard, Luke quickly cut in with a raised finger pointed at the melodist. "You're Master Van's sister!?" He glared at the female with accusing animosity, with a hint of disgust even. "Then what was with you trying to kill him!?" He demanded angrily, but Tear only looked away from his burning gaze.

Ion looked horrified at what he just heard, staring wide-eyed at Tear. "'Kill him…?" he repeated. Crossing my arms, I looked away to stare out at the forest as I waited for the conversation I know the lines to to end. This would be really like the game, won't it? If it went exactly as planned, then a cheagle would be coming out any moment now. I'm more curious to see what they look like instead of the conversation I've already seen and heard. I don't think I'll contribute much to it anyway. At least, not without looking suspicious.

"Sorry, it's nothing. Just something between us," Tear said as she tried to get to issue to drop. Luke would have none of it however.

"Don't try to avoid the question!" Luke ordered in a yell. "If you're his sister, why are you trying to kill him!?"

Oh, hello. What's that over there? Squinting- darn my eyesight- at a brush of bush in the distance up ahead as it rustled, I waited. I have a feeling that's exactly what I think it was. Come on…

"It's… I…" Tear hesitated, clearly uncomfortable.

I didn't meant to, I really didn't… but I had accidentally interrupted the trio's conversation when I couldn't help but let out a loud squeal at the sight of the yellow cheagle when it finally emerged from the bush, its bushy ears flipping up and down as it cocked its head this way and that at our direction.

The cheagle almost resembled a rabbit in most physical aspects, but still different. Its huge ears that popped u from either sides of its head looked quite poofy, and the tiny creature stood on its two white and tiny hind-legs. While most of its entire body was covered in light yellow fur, the tips of its bushy ears, its paws, feet and tummy were covered with white fur. They look a lot more cute in real life than I remember them being in the game.

"_Gah, _what's _wrong _with you?" I heard Luke demand angrily from behind me. I raised a finger to point it at the fluffy creature up ahead.

"It's a cheagle," I informed without turning around, still smiling in adoration at it. Yes, I like cute things, sue me. "It's soo cute…!"

"What?" I found myself stumbling when Luke abruptly pushed me aside from behind, stepping forward so he could see what I could see. I couldn't help but glare at him when I regained my balance, but he didn't even spare me a glance as his full attention was now on the yellow cheagle.

Really, would it _kill _him to move to my side?

When the cheagle noticed us staring at it, it let out a tiny sound we could somehow manage to hear before hopping away.

"So they _do_ live here! Come on, we're gonna catch that thing!" Luke declared, quickly forgetting about what he had been previously talking to Tear about.

"Hey, are you really going to hurt it?" I asked, but Luke had already ran off. "Hey!"

"I'm not gonna hurt it; I'm just going to grab it and hand it over to the villagers!" Luke yelled back as he continued to run.

Should I follow him? No, better yet: should I follow this group to the cheagle tree?

…Wait, why _shouldn't _I? There were more benefits in hanging out with the group than staying alone. For one thing, both Tear and Luke could protect me. Luke might not like it, but if I told the story I told Ion to them, I don't think Tear would want to leave me alone. I could cover more ground in Cheagle Woods with them as they'll be walking around in search for where the cheagles live. I could find the gateway or hole or whatever the hell it was that would lead me back home. I'll try to find a way to separate myself from the group if and when I do. The last thing I need was for them to follow me. …Huh… that sounded a little manipulative of me, but it can't be helped. I would rather be safe than play nice when it would only get me killed in the end.

With that in mind, I quickly ran after Luke before he could get his hands on the cheagle and strangle it or something. Being the victim of falsely accused theft, albeit unintentionally, I knew that Luke's still rather ticked about the fact that the real culprits were running around free here. There's no telling what he'll do once he gets his hands on one early, considering his temper, no matter what he says.

As I ran, I briefly looked over my shoulder and noticed that Tear and Ion had not yet followed us. They were still at the same spot where we left them, talking to each other still. Crap, the last thing we needed at this point is to be separated from them. Luke had yet to notice that they're still at the same spot we left them.

As I turned my head to face the front of me, I suddenly found myself bodily hitting into something. As I stumbled back, I was greeted with the familiar visage of black face of a fanged demonic monster with a detached jaw on a white background. The monster imprint on the back of Luke's white coat.

"Watch where you're going, cave girl!" Luke snapped as he turned to glare at me over his shoulder, his scowl deep.

"Sorry. But Tear and Ion are still back there," I said, trying to ignore the insulting nickname. I wanted to tell him that I already gave him my name, but if he's refusing to use it, I don't think I can convince him otherwise being the stubborn and arrogant person he was. Hopefully, he'll get bored of it soon enough.

"_HEY!"_ Luke shouted over to the two that were left behind as loud as he could, so that he could project his voice all the way to where they were standing. I winced as his voice pierced through my eardrums, as I was standing right next to him. I quickly clapped my hands over my ears before he could shout again. "_It's going to get away!"_

I saw Tear and Ion exchanging a few more short words with each other before they started to walk towards us. Noticing that they were taking their time, Luke let out an agitated huff.

"_Hurry up!"_ he whined, crossing his arms and tapping his feet impatiently. "If you two are not going to hurry up, I'll go ahead and leave you guys behind! And _you!_" Luke suddenly pushed me into the shoulder, causing me to stumble in place. Damn, he's stronger than I thought! "You're with Ion, right? So you're coming with us?"

"No, I'm… not with Ion," I admitted, rubbing the spot where he pushed me. "But I'm coming with you anyway. Hope you don't mind. I… have business here, too."

"Fine. Whatever. For now, just help me catch that cheagle and a few others if you want to be useful. I want to catch as many as I can. You can deal with your business later when we're done. That's an order." With that, Luke flicked a wrist dismissively at me just as Ion and Tear finally joined us. "It's _about time _you got here! I swear a turtle moves faster than you two!"

What am I getting myself deeper into…? Hopefully I'll be gone by the time they have to go to the liger queen's den.

* * *

**Wow… I actually updated in a span of one day after my last chapter. Luckily to all you reading this, I had a lot of free time, so I started writing on the second chapter.**

**Don't forget to review on your way out and tell me what you think of the story so far! XDD Ciao, ciao~!**


	3. Mieu, the baby cheagle

**August 27 2012: CHAPTER THREE RE-WRITTEN.**

* * *

**Mieu the baby cheagle**

To Luke's anger, the yellow cheagle that we saw earlier was nowhere to be seen once the four of us started to search for it as a group. He was rather steamed about it, but when Ion pointed out that it has been only five minutes at most and since the cheagle had a much smaller stature than us, it was possible that it couldn't have gotten too far, Luke had simmered down a bit. Key words in there being 'a bit'. He was still scowling as we all walked, looking for signs of yellow fur in this forest of green. I almost felt disorientated seeing varying shades of green in every which way I looked, and I worried that since everything almost looked the same, we could be walking around in circles and not know it.

The four of us had spent several minutes trekking through Cheagle Woods. Unlike in the game, the paths weren't as quite obvious, so we would have to guess which way to go; stepping over tree roots, cutting down any vines that were in the way, and pushing some foliage aside. Also, the entire place was bigger than the game portrayed it to be, which was understandable.

Every once in a while, we would reach a few clearings, but then we would have to decide which way to go next and repeat this process. Well, come to think of it, if there was a clear path leading straight from the entrance of the forest straight to the cheagle's nest, then people would have easily found them by now.

The only sounds we have heard in the past few minutes were the faint sounds of rushing water, the wind, a few birds' cries, and occasionally, the sound of a monster from a distance.

As per Tear's suggestion, we were all walking in a straight line. Though she clearly did not seem to like the idea, being our main offensive fighter, Luke was put at the very front with Ion behind him. Tear wanted to have someone she could trust when it came to directions in the front with Luke, and when Ion claimed he could do it and me admitting that I didn't trust myself not to get us lost, the green-haired Fon Master was put behind Luke. At the very end of the line was Tear, because she could fend off any surprise attacks from behind, and also have time to cast if a monster attacked from the front and would be busy with Luke. In front of her and behind Ion was me, as I not only have nothing but stones to throw as a weapon, but I also had no fighting experience.

Understandably, Luke was furious when he eventually found out about it- as he was so focused on hunting down the cheagles that he didn't pick up the obvious hints until later AND the fact that he wasn't paying attention to our formation strategy after he was told where he should stand- as well as the fact that Ion's staff was meant to be a symbol of his rank in the Church of Lorelei instead of a weapon. Fuel was added to the fire when his shout of "_WHAT!?_" had attracted the attention of a nearby axe beak, prompting it to immediately attack our currently leading man. You know, those giant chicken things from the game normally found in Cheagle Woods with beaks in the shape of axes? Yeah, those. After Luke had dispatched of it without any help, he continued with the complaint he was undoubtedly about to let loose earlier had he not been interrupted.

"Hey, what are you two even doing here if you can't fight!?" Luke demanded before throwing an arm out in a vague direction at what I guess he meant the exit. "Get out of our way!"

As I felt Tear bristling in indignation from her place behind me at how badly he's treating her superior, Ion winced at Luke's loud voice. It's probably just an idea of mine, but I don't think Ion has ever had someone yell at him the same way Luke just did before. He's the Fon Master, the highest rank in the Order of Lorelei, an ambassador of peace and a kind and reasonable authority figure. I don't think he gave people much reason to hate or be ticked at him. The closest person I could think of doing that is Anise, but I _think_ the closest she has ever gotten was a sigh of frustration, maybe a slightly raised voice when she disagrees with something, but that's it. I could be wrong, since that's just what I thought anyway. So with Luke yelling in his face as he was, it might have been something new for him. Still, to his major credit, Ion still continued to be polite to the redhead.

"I'm sorry," Ion immediately said with a sigh. "I just wanted to find out what really happened at Engeve."

Luke looked confused. "Huh? Why? It's none of your business, is it?"

"The cheagles are sacred creatures. If they're harming people, they must have some reason for it. As one who is connected to the cheagles, I cannot sit idly by and watch," Ion explained.

"Well, they're just monsters, right?" Luke asked with a shrug. "Just leave them alone."

But Ion shook his head. "I can't. Maybe I'm strange that way, but… that's how I am. Anyway, if we find the cheagles, we should be able to learn what's going on."

"Tch, whatever. What about you, cave girl?" Luke demanded, making me look up. "Got a better reason being here without a weapon, or are you just stupid?"

"Believe me, none of this was intentional on my part," I said with a sigh. He had no idea just how unintentional my presence here was. "I had a weapon and a map and a bag of supplies and everything in my bag, but I got held at knife-point and robbed by a thief on my way to Grand Chokmah. After I handed my bag to him and he dropped his guard, I just turned and ran as fast as I could and ended up here. That's how I met Ion."

"What?" Luke's jaw dropped at what I just said, before he clamped it shut again and glared at me. "Hmph. So you're a coward? We don't need anyone like you! You should have beaten the guy up!"

"Luke," Tear spoke up suddenly, her stern voice full of disapproval. "Don't tell me you're actually proposing that she leave us the way she is now. Though I agree that she could have done better to prevent the theft, but what's done is done now. I think-"

"-we should babysit her? We have our hands full with just Ion already!" he snapped. "And at least _he's _someone important! She won't be that much of a difference!"

Ouch. I admit, that hurt. While it's true that I may not contribute much in terms of aid, to hear him actually talk about getting rid of me because of that… that really stung.

"Unacceptable," Tear snapped back, her voice icy. "That selfish way of thinking is just inexcusable. We could at least escort her back to Engeve."

"Um…" I should speak up, considering it's me who was at stake here. "I… I know, I'm nothing much right now. But… if I could help in some way, in _any _way at all, I would. I really would."

"If it's not too much to ask for, I want Samantha to come with us as well," Ion piped up, his free hand slightly raised as he said his piece. "I won't be able to stop worrying if she leaves alone now."

Clearly not liking the idea of bringing me along as well, Luke groaned loudly as he reared his head back. "Alright, _alright _already! Sheez… but she's not going to stand around while we fight either. Tear, give me your bag."

"What?" Tear asked, just as confused as Ion and I at his sudden request. What could he want?

"I said to give me your bag!" Luke repeated heatedly as he rolled his eyes. "It'll only take a minute! It's not like I'm going to steal it or anything! _Geez!"_

"If you wanted to borrow something from others, at least be more polite giving your request," Tear told him with a frown, but handed her bag- which I now just noticed now that it was mentioned- over to me so that it could be passed to Ion and then to Luke. It was a decent sized bag, not too big or not too small. It looked big enough to store a weapon in there, but not big enough to get in the way either. It almost resembled a satchel, too. I passed it over to Ion.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." After receiving the bag from Ion, Luke zipped it open. He reached a hand inside and immediately found whatever it was he was looking for as he immediately pulled it out. "Here, cave girl. You said you want to help, so you should start doing it now if you don't want to get in our way."

When Ion passed Tear's bag back to me to return to our resident healer, I noticed the other item handed to me. It was a sword that was made completely out of pure wood, from the pommel to the tip of the curved long and slender blade.

…Does Luke expect me to kill monsters with splinters?

I had to bite my bottom lip to keep that smart alecky comment to myself less I have the closest thing that's to a weapon taken away by the hot-tempered noble. Instead, what I said was, "Uh… I think it's doable."

"Good. Use that," Luke said in a curt voice as he turned around and started walking again with us following him. I tossed the stones in my free hand away as we did so. "_Man _aren't you lucky that we didn't end up selling that away back in Engeve because Tear said we should do so. But I didn't want to get rid of it because it was a gift."

"Someone would buy this?" I couldn't help but ask, my eyebrows raised.

"Even if it couldn't be used as an effective weapon, it could be used as a practice instrument, if not a toy," Tear said. "I wanted Luke to sell it so that we could earn a little more pocket money in our possession." She then suddenly sighed. "Especially since I have to purchase a better sword for Luke to use over his training sword."

"I _said_ that I would ask my father to pay you back when I get back home, didn't I?" Luke called back grumpily as he tightened the grip on the pommel of his cutlass sword. "Stop complaining already."

"I _wasn't-!_" Tear suddenly cut herself with a sigh, her free hand that's wasn't clutching her staff coming up to rest itself against her forehead. She probably realized that protesting might lead to another argument with Luke or something.

"Anyway, cave girl, you better not lose or break it! I want my sword back to me once we're done with this mess and back at Engeve," Luke ordered. "It's not a gift: go buy your own weapon when you get the chance."

Too bad that Luke didn't know was that after this, we won't be returning straight back to Engeve anytime so soon. Jade's going to show up soon and bring everyone aboard the Tartarus, where all chaos would break loose soon after. In other words, I won't have to worry about going unarmed for a while, even if it _was_ a crappy weapon.

"Right," I said as I adjusted my grip on my temporary sword. How should I fight with this, anyway? I've never use swords before. Maybe I _should _get a weapon that's more suited for me after all. I'll just have to deal with this for now until we get to the next town, or I get a job to earn some Gald- no.

No… _no_. That's not right. I won't be around by then.

Regardless, now that the issue with my being weaponless solved, we continued our trek in silence for the most part, not talking unless monsters could overhear and attack us. Whenever we did want to say something to each other, it would be in a voice only a little higher than a whisper.

"I apologize for Luke's behavior," Tear murmured from her place behind me. "He's… from a very well-off family and has led a sheltered and comfortable life until recently."

I shook my head. "It's okay," I said in a quiet voice. Then, pretending to have a moment of insight, I said, "But from what you said, he's some rich guy's kid, right? I'm not really surprised that he's… um… you know… has the personality that he has. I can cut him some slack."

"Thank you for understanding," she said, sounding a bit relieved at the fact I wasn't too offended from Luke's attitude. "He's… been stressed out since the world outside his manor was… a lot more different that he thought it to be."

I noted at how Tear's omitting most of the real details that of their story to hide the fact that he's from Kimlasca instead of Malkuth, where we were now. Of course, I did nothing to show that I know that- because what reason do I have for doing so?- and nodded.

I admit… the first time I saw Tear at the beginning of the game the first time I played it, I found her to be rather cold and intimidating. I had believed that she was someone that's hard to talk and get close to. As the game processes, I would then see that she's actually a decent person in her own way, with her very own hidden fluffy side. Since I had that knowledge, I could now talk to her comfortably as I was doing now. If I didn't have that knowledge, I'm sure I would be too frightened of her appearance to try and engage her in conversation, much less feel at ease around her. I knew I could trust Tear to have my back in this dangerous place until I found the way home.

"May I ask something?" Tear asked.

"Sure," I responded with a nod.

"May I ask why you tend to refer to the Fon Master by just his name?" she asked. "Luke I could understand, because he's rather… lacking in the respect department, but you… considering you two just met, I find that a bit… strange."

I blinked. "Oh, um, I just think it's easier to say, that's all."

"I don't mind," Ion said from his place in front of me. "If you want to call me by just by name, please feel free to do so. I really wouldn't mind it, Tear."

"But that's… against proper procedures of what I've been taught at the Church of Lorelei," she stammered, clearly hesitant to the idea.

"Why should you call someone by their title?" Luke asked from up ahead. "_I _didn't like it when I'm called 'Master Luke' or 'Sir Luke'. That's just really- " he paused, searching for a word that best described his feelings, "-weird."

"Because it's too formal?" Ion guessed.

"Yeah, that, I guess," Luke admitted.

"Not that I'm saying that there's anything wrong with showing respects where it's due," Ion said. "But sometimes when you're just having a casual conversation, it's nice to be impersonal about it." I could hear the smile in his voice as he said the next sentence. "Let's all be friends, shall we?"

As I faltered in my walk, I could hear Luke make a sound that's almost like a snort. "…You're… really weird, you know?" he said. Though his words were insulting, I could detect no malice or derision within them despite his tone being more or less the same as usual.

The green-haired boy chuckled in what seems like agreement. "I suppose so. I get called that a lot."

"Even though we all just met…" I couldn't help but say, still surprised at what I just heard.

"Hm? Is it not okay to be friends especially after we met?" Ion asked guilelessly, tilting his head to the side.

No, no, this was bad. There weren't supposed to be any chances or opportunities for me to start feeling attached. This alone was dangerous territory for me, considering I won't be around long. I have to stay aloof… just push away all attempts of being friendly. I had no problems doing that with Luke or Tear, but… with Ion with those big innocent eyes and that hopeful and genuine tone… it's hard to_ not_ like him.

Which was why, with those thoughts in mind, I said nothing in response to his question. Instead, I said:

"Wonder where that cheagle went?"

Fortunately for me, Luke was quick to latch onto the sudden change of topic, if not out of frustration. "_Argh!_ You _see_!? Because we wasted so much time, we lost the blasted thing! Now we don't know where it even went!"

"The cheagles' nesting ground should be up ahead," Ion ruminated.

Stopping in his tracks, Luke whirled around to face the Fon Master. "How do you know?"

Ion looked a little sheepish. "Oh, um… Actually, I was curious about the thefts in Engeve and did a little looking. Cheagles are intelligent and peaceful creatures. It's not like them to steal food."

"…Humph. Well, looks like we're both headed to the same place, then," Luke commented.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Should that be obvious by now, though?"

"Shut up!_"_ came the expected retort.

"The two of you came here to investigate the cheagles, too?" Ion asked quickly, probably not wanting another fight between any of us.

Fortunately for him, Luke turned to look at him with an extremely irked look on his face. "I'm not gonna just let people accuse me of things I didn't do." He then gave Ion a pointed look. "And _you _are coming with us. Cave girl too, since we don't have a choice but to bring her along after all."

"I have a name, you know…" I mumbled quietly with a frown.

"Really? You don't mind?" Ion asked Luke, smiling happily.

Tear, on the other hand, doesn't feel the same way as she crossed her arms and gave Luke a disapproving look. "How can you think of taking Fon Master Ion somewhere so dangerous!?"

"Then what do you want to do with him?" he challenged. "He'll just come wandering back here on his own."

"…I'm sorry. I just have to know. Cheagles are the sacred beasts of our Order, after all," Ion confessed, proving Luke's claim to be true.

The noble held a hand up towards Ion when he said that, giving Tear with an 'I told you' look on his face. "See? Besides, we can't just leave a guy with a face so pale he looks like he's about to die."

I had to hide my smile behind my free hand at the shocked and horrified look on Tear's face when Luke said that, as if he had just insulted Ion right in front of her. That is by far, one of my favorite quotes in the game from Luke. It was just too funny, at least to me. Especially when, unlike Tear, Ion didn't took Luke's remark about him as being insulting, didn't notice it, or just plain out ignored it. On the contrary, he looked rather happy. _Beaming_, even!

"That's rather blunt, Luke…" I said, still hiding my amused smile behind my hand.

"It's the same with you too, you know that, cave girl," Luke told me. "If we just let you go alone now, then you'll just get yourself ripped apart by monsters and end up being their lunch. So even though I don't like it, you're also coming with us. I think Ion will be sick with worry otherwise, too."

"True enough," I admitted solemnly, dropping my hand. "Thanks Luke."

"Oh! Thank you so much! You're such a nice person, Luke!" Ion said exuberantly, and I couldn't help but look over to the youngest member of the group with my eyebrows raised just at how _happy_ he was. From the corner of my eye, I notice Tear gaping at Ion, as if she couldn't believe her ears of what she just heard from even, especially after the blunt remark he received from Luke just a moment earlier.

"That remark earlier…isn't really meant to be a compliment, you know…" I pointed out. "I don't see what's so nice about it."

"But he really is nice!" Ion insisted, making Luke to flush a bright red color in the face.

"N-No I'm not!" he scoffed, shaking his head and looking the other way and scratching his nose in an embarrassed gesture. "Now quit saying stupid things and let's go!"

"Okay!" Ion nodded.

"And don't use that weird arte again," Luke ordered, rubbing his cheek. "You damn near passed. We'll take care of the fighting."

Ion's leaf-green eyes widened a bit, before he smiled once again. How can a person smile that much around Luke when he was still acting like his spoiled self?

"You're going to protect me?" Ion closed his eyes happily at that, even clasping his hands together as his staff rolled to settle in the crook of his arm. "Sir Luke, I'm so moved!"

Unable to keep myself from doing so, I felt myself lolling my head backwards so that I was looking up at the sky- hidden partially from view by trees- and trying not to smile and laugh and vocalize the thought that was currently going through my mind at that moment.

_This__ was why I mistook you as a girl sometimes, Ion. This was why._

Luke's face became even redder at that, and he looked very uncomfortable at all the praises Ion was showering him with. "Th-That's not what I meant!" he stammered, clearly trying to look annoyed and failing rather miserably at that. "You'll just be in the way! Don't get all worked up over it."

He then sighed, turning his back on the Fon Master as he started to walk again. "And it's just 'Luke', got it? Now, let's go!"

"Okay!" Ion quickly followed him, leaving Tear and I to exchange amused glances between each other before following as well: forming our straight line formation again.

After another few minutes of walking, Luke had suddenly slowed down before stopping in his tracks again, prompting the rest of us behind him to stop as well.

"What's up?" I asked quietly. A monster, perhaps?

"I saw something pink moving over there…" Luke mumbled, pointing at a hole in a tree trunk a few steps away from where we stood.

"Pink?" Ion asked from his place before me, leaning over to the side so he could look past Luke towards the spot pointed out as well. I did the same, but towards the other side, and I have a feeling that Tear was doing the same as well. We probably made quite the comical sight: all looking out from behind Luke the way we were just then. We then all stiffened when something small, furry and _pink _walked out of the hole before quickly noticing us staring at it.

_"Mieu… mieu, mieu, mieu. Mieu~!"_

"So, that's a cheagle?" Luke asked. Even from behind him, I could picture his raised eyebrow.

"It looks like it's still a child," Ion observed. I blinked in surprise when Tear suddenly rushed out from her place behind me to the very front of the group, before slowly walking towards the tiny cheagle with a hand outstretched, as if beckoning it over. Instead of encouraging the creature to come over however, she only succeeded in making it jump in fear before it quickly fled the area.

"Hey! It ran away!" Luke complained. "Tear, you scared it off!"

"I…" Tear turned back to face us, her face slightly red. _Aha_, her love for cute things was showing for the first time!

"It is a wild animal, after all," Ion reminded Luke kindly in Tear's defense.

Tear quickly regained her composure as logic kicked in. "This must be the cheagles' nesting area."

"I do hope we can find some proof they stole food from the village," Ion said, staring off at the direction the pink cheagle had ran off to.

Luke turned to look at Ion over one of his shoulders. "Those stupid things probably left food all over the place."

"Let's explore a little," Ion said before started to walk past the tree that the pink cheagle was hiding in earlier.

"It's not much further now, is it?" I asked, following the others. Now that I know how bigger this place was compared to the game, I realized that my memory of every locations' layout of this place won't be so reliable.

…Oh shit. If Cheagle Woods was this big, then I so do _not _want to even _imagine _what the other places, like say maybe the Absorption Gate, would be like in real life.

"It shouldn't be any further now…" Ion stated.

And he was right. Just a minute's worth of walking later, we came across a wide, open area that was free of clustered trees like the rest of the forest was. The only exception was a lone tree at the center that was as big as a house and surrounded by a small moat. When I looked upwards, I notice that this tree was _very _tall, easily towering all the other trees in this forest.

"This must be it," Tear commented.

"Yep, it definitely is," I agreed. I then pointed to a spot in the moat that surrounded the tree, where there were a group of rocks placed together that would allow us to cross the water and to a gaping hole in the tree.

"Even that looks like a bridge that the cheagles could use to avoid getting wet, or to stop the smaller kids from falling into the water. Even though it we could very well stand on it; it looks pretty deep enough for a baby cheagle to drown in," I observed.

Tear's face fell as she blanched at the thought. She obviously didn't like the idea of cute, tiny baby cheagles drowning to death in the moat right in front of their parents that surrounded their safe haven.

"So?" Luke piped up. "It's their parents own fault for not keeping an eye on them, right? That's what they get for not being careful."

Oh my _God_… the _glare _that Tear was giving Luke now… if looks could kill…

"How could you say something so cold?" she demanded, tightening her grip on her weapon.

Before Luke could even answer her back, Ion's voice smoothly cut in before another argument could break out. Now, how many times did Ion stop an argument already today?

"Look," the Fon Master told us, holding up an apple. Now that we were paying more attention to the smaller details, there were apples all over the place close to the water of the cheagle tree. _Bitten _apples.

"These apples have the mark of Engeve on them," Ion informed, turning the apple in his hands so I could see the black symbol on it.

"Why would they mark their own fruits?" I wondered. "Yet a better question: how do they _do _that while keeping the fruits edible? I never _did_ get that."

"It's for shipment reasons," Ion explained. "Agricultural products from Engeve are of higher quality than normal agricultural products, so they fetch a higher price in markets all over the world. The mark is used to separate Engeve products from the others to get the accurate pricing for when they're bought and sold."

"Who cares? So, these guys _did_ do it!" Luke said triumphantly.

"I think I hear something inside this tree," Tear informed us.

"I bet fifty Ba- Gald that they're cheagles." I mentally kicked myself for that near slip-up. I almost said Baht… the currency of my home country. Shoot, I need to be more careful.

"No way am I taking that bet," Luke said, holding up his hands in a 'I want nothing to do with this' gesture.

Ion smiled in humor. "That would be an obvious win, wouldn't it? Cheagles live inside tree trunks."

I shrugged. "I know… I just wanted to earn some money. I'm broke, after all, give me a break."

"Like I told you earlier, go get your own money," Luke said as he pointed a finger at me with a scowl.

Quickly recalling the conversation we had earlier, I said with a teasing smirk, "No… you told me to get my _own weapons_. You didn't say anything about the _money_ I needed to get them, though."

Luke rolled his eyes at my retort. "No way am I going to pay you for no reason. Anyway, the cheagles live in there, right?" Luke started to cross the stones laid out over the moat water and towards the hole in the tree's trunk. "Let's just go in, already."

I smiled slightly and started to cross as well, watching my step as I did so. Even if I did fall, I estimated that the water will only soak me up to my knees, so I wasn't too worried about slipping. …Though it would hurt if I hit the stone I was standing on while falling first before hitting the water, and who knows what's in there?

"Fon Master! That's too dangerous!" I heard Tear warn. Carefully turning around, I saw Ion slowly trying to walk over the stones as well, his arms held out slightly for balance.

Reaching out with a hand towards Ion, I called over to the brunette that's by the edge of the moat. "If you're worried about Ion falling, Tear, I could grab hold of his hand, if you want. And I doubt the cheagles are actually dangerous."

"Thank you," Ion said, grabbing my hand with his free hand, as his other one was holding onto his staff. Deciding that it probably was not worth arguing about, Tear soon followed as well, looking ready to catch Ion if by chance he did fell.

"Just watch your step," I advised as I turned back to the front of me. Luke had already gone inside so I could no longer see him. "Now, in we go."

We crossed the makeshift 'bridge' without incident, as soon enough, we were making our way into the hole in the giant tree. After uneasily walking through the shadows, I could hear the familiar sound of the cheagles' mewing grow so much more louder now that we're in their vicinity. Soon enough, the shadows dissipated when I finally reached the center of the tree, and I took a moment to marvel at the massive round space before me. The space felt almost claustrophobic with the amount of tiny colorful furred bodies of the cheagles as they continued to make indignant and alarmed sounds towards Luke and then to us when we entered: clearly displeased at our entry. Luke looked about ready to start throwing kicks all over the place at the ruckus they're all causing.

"Please let me through," Ion pleaded when he had tried to step deeper into the room only to be blocked by several cheagles.

When the cheagles only made angry noises in return to Ion's request, Luke let out a loud groan that was almost lost in the noise of the clearing. "Like the monsters are gonna understand you."

"The Order's founder, Yulia Jue, made a pact with the cheagles and gained their aid… or so I've been told," Ion said, frowning thoughtfully at all the cheagles blocking his way.

I turned to look over at Tear to see her reaction. My eyebrows raised when I noticed that she had one hand over her mouth and was staring at all the cheagles adoringly with a light blush on her face. I could almost hear her mental gushing on the cheagles' cuteness within my own mind.

"…_Mieu mieu. Mieu, mieu_," a deeper and wiser sounding cheagle commanded over all the noise within the clearing. Immediately afterwards, all of the cheagles obediently became quiet and scuttled away to make a path for us that led to a slighter bigger and old-looking light-purple cheagle that was holding onto a gold and black ring. This one also had furrier brows than most, effectively hiding its eyes.

Are you of relation to Yulia Jue?" the cheagle elder suddenly asked in clear English, startling us all.

"Whoa! That monster talked!" Luke exclaimed before quickly stepping behind Ion. Tear gave Luke a look at that, obviously not liking the fact that he might use Ion as a meat-shield by any chance that the cheagle in front of us were to attack.

"It is the power of the ring we were granted as part of our pact with Yulia," the cheagle elder explained. "Are you of relation to Yulia?"

Ion stepped forward, with Tear flanking his side as he made his way towards the cheagle elder before stopping at a respectable distance while Luke and I remained where we were. "Yes. I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. Am I correct in assuming that you're the cheagle elder?"

The pruple cheagle nodded. "Indeed I am."

Luke then suddenly stepped forward as well. I quickly followed, only because I feel awkward at being left standing alone at the very back with hundreds of eerily silent cheagles staring at us with evident distrust. They might listen to their leader, but that doesn't mean they're any less hostile towards us. I almost worried that they'll all jump towards us at once for no reason.

"Hey. Monster," Luke called, gaining him a slightly irritated look from the cheagle elder for the nickname which he chose to ignore. "You guys stole food from Engeve, right?"

The look on the cheagle elder's face instantly sobered up when he heard that. "I see now. So, you've come to exterminate us."

"Humph. So you don't deny it," Luke scoffed, crossing his arms as he glared down at the old cheagle.

"Cheagles are herbivores. Why do you need to steal human food?" Ion asked.

The old cheagle hesitated. "…To preserve the cheagle tribe."

Tear shook her head slowly. "It doesn't look like you lack food. There's plenty of vegetation in this forest."

"One of our members caused a fire in the northern region. As a result, the ligers that lived there moved down to this forest in order to prey on us," the cheagle elder explained gravely.

Ion quickly caught on. "Then, the reason you stole the food was so your people wouldn't be eaten."

"Correct," the cheagle elder confirmed. "If they aren't sent food periodically, we cheagles are captured and eaten."

"That's horrible…" Ion breathed as eyes widened, as did Tear's. Luke remained indifferent, and I guess I am too, because I felt the same way as him. Not that I hate the cheagles or anything, but I just felt nothing. Do they have any role in the game other than handing Mieu over to us as the team mascot? They never really endeared themselves to me, nor did they stood out. And like Luke, I really did see this as being another typical food chain among wild animals, as cruel as it may sound to some. But still…

…I probably shouldn't, but I decided to skip to the heart of the matter and end this conversation over with. I'm already tired of hearing conversations that I know almost line-by-line to today, and I don't think there was anything important to hear other than Tear and Ion going on about how unfortunate the cheagles are. I just want them to hurry up so we could explore the rest of the forest and me finding my way home. This was just a game… I shouldn't care, I _shouldn't_.

"What about if we try to negotiate with the ligers themselves? If we can convince them to go back to their home, they can leave the cheagles alone, and Engeve can stop getting their food stolen. Simple, right?" I asked, knowing full well that the plan would go horribly, but what else could I do?

As expected, Luke looked like he's about to protest, but- also as expected- Ion agreed with my idea. He placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Yes… and if we could take one of the cheagles with us as a translator, we won't have to worry about communication, as well."

"But it's not any of our problems at all!" Luke protested loudly, and I quickly held up a hand. Here comes my knowledge of the game! Nerd power, activate!

"It is, actually. Food from Engeve is shipped throughout the entire world. If their food supply is getting too short, their food prices would increase, and, well… you know about how it could affect the prices in the local markets in response, right?" I said, keeping my face blank.

Tear nodded in agreement to my explanation. "Samantha's right. Luke, you can stand to be more considerate like her."

"Whatever," Luke only just rolled his eyes, looking away while I tucked away the smile that was about to bloom from the undeserving praise given to me. "Fine, fine… let's just get this idea of yours over with."

The cheagle elder made his way towards us. "Then, I shall lend this sorcerer's ring to the one who will be your interpreter." He turned his head to the side, and called out to someone in the cheagle language.

As soon as he did, a tiny light-blue cheagle literally bounced towards us, before giving us a happy yet curious look with its big grey round eyes.

Luke blinked, staring at the baby cheagle dubiously. "What the…"

"This child is the one who caused the fire in the north," the cheagle elder stated. "I want you to take him with you."

As the light-blue cheagle approached the elder, the old cheagle tried to forcefully put on the sorcerer's ring through its head. However, since the baby cheagle's head was a bit too big for the ring, both cheagles only managed to somehow knock themselves to the ground.

I couldn't help but smile when both cheagles got back up again. When the cheagle elder motioned to the fallen ring, the baby cheagle stepped over it, before pulling it up so it could wear it around its middle like a belt. We all knelt down as the light-blue cheagle stared at all of us in turn before smiling widely.

"My name's Mieu. Pleased to meet you," Mieu greeted enthusiastically in a high-pitched and squeaky voice.

Luke immediately grimaced at the sound. "…Something about this thing is really annoying."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry~!"

_"Argh!"_ Luke stood up slightly, clenching a fist angrily at the trembling Mieu. "You're gonna drive me nuts! I should just roast you and eat you right now!"

I let out a long and tired sigh along with Tear while Ion stared at the scene with a look of mild confusion and interest. Well, now that _that _was over, I'm already dreading at what's to come next: us meeting the liger queen which ended her getting pissed at us enough to try and kill us all, which would then force us to fight and kill her, which would _then _cause Arietta the Wild to hate us till the day she dies.

I still haven't found a way home in this forest. And with each passing minute that would soon lead us to leave this place, I would no longer have the chance to find it again. Not alone. Already I could feel my heart start to clench in panic.

If that wasn't enough, it looked like that I would be one of the people to fight the liger queen with _no _battle experience whatsoever- with a _wooden sword at that-_ and risk being _killed_. I could only hope that Jade shows up on time to save us.

…Already I regretted speeding up the conversation instead of delaying it, and increasing the chances of us dying with Jade not showing up on time.

Oh, just… fuck my life. Just… _fuck it._

* * *

**There's chapter three! Hope you all enjoyed it~!**

**Next chapter; Sammy-girl will get into her first boss fight! Will she survive with her crappy fighting skills? Will she meet long enough to meet the one and only Jade Curtiss? Or little Anise Tatlin? Stick around to find out!**

**Now, review~!**


	4. Fight!

**This update is quicker than my last one. XD**

**...And for some reason, Document Manager won't allow an exclamation mark (!) and a question mark (?) to stick together, no matter how much I try to edit it. -_- Which is REALLY annoying, especially since some characters in this chapter needs to shout out a few questions. *sighs heavily***

**To my dear reviewers, thank you for your encouragements, inputs and corrections! I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well!**

**August 31 2012: CHAPTER FOUR RE-WRITTEN.**

* * *

**Fight!**

"So, that's… Luke, Samantha, Tear and Ion," Mieu was repeating as he pointed a paw to each of the aforementioned person as we all walked out of the cheagle tree and back out into the fresh air of the forest, thank goodness. The interior of the cheagle tree smelt like… um… let's just say it was kinda strange. It was hard to explain.

We all had just introduced ourselves to Mieu after promising to cheagle elder that we would be back soon from the ligers' territory, and the cheagle was happy that he had new friends to talk to. To Luke's chagrin, Mieu also had to have a brief word with a few number of cheagles- probably his family- before bidding them a temporary farewell (I guess) and finally saying that he was ready to leave with us.

"That's right. You have a good memory," Tear praised the little creature with an adoring smile aas Luke quickly marched on ahead to cross the rocks over the moat to get to the other side, not even bothering to wait for us.

"This is my first time talking to a human before!" Mieu said, sounding awestruck and amazed as he padded after us, lagging behind due to his tiny body and even tinier limbs. "This is even my first time seeing humans before! You're all sooo huge! I wonder how many things you all have in common with cheagles? Can you tell me, please, can you?"

"We'll try to answer as many as we can," Tear promised. "We'll talk while we walk."

After we reached Luke on the other side, the redhead was quick to march away again towards a seemingly random direction.

"Luke," Tear called out to to him. "I think we should let Mieu lead."

Stopping in place, Luke turned to face the melodist with a grimace. "We should we?" he demanded curtly.

"Mieu knows more about the woods than we do, so it's best to have Mieu lead us to the ligers' territory," Ion explained. "It's best that way, so we won't have to worry about wasting time and getting lost."

"But that would mean that the annoying little thing would have to be in the front with me!" Luke complained, stomping a foot against the ground. "I don't think I'll be able to stand a minute of its annoying _voice! _Can't you guys _hear _how grating it _is?_"

"_Miiieeuuu… _I'm sorry," Mieu said sadly, his ears drooped down low.

"_Shut up! _Just _shut up _if you don't really want to tick me off!" Luke snapped unsympathetically. "Geez, what else can you do besides talk to other monsters anyway? You're useless."

Surprisingly, Mieu perked up at that. "Oh! I almost forgot to show you something! Everyone, watch this!"

Turning to the side to face a random rock, Mieu loudly sucked in some air deeply through his mouth, before- to our surprise- releasing two consecutive balls of fire from it and out towards his target. Despite the fact that I already knew he could do that, I still felt my eyes widen when I actually saw the small balls of fire shot out from his mouth because _damn:_ shouldn't that hurt? I have no idea what kind of genetic it was that would allow the cheagles to _not_ feel hurt or suffer high-degree burns after blowing fire out of their mouths. This was my first time actually seeing an animal blow fire out from its mouth. The only other time I saw fire being in contact with the insides of a mouth was from a fire-eater at a circus some time back. I still don't know how they did that.

"_Woah!_ He breathed fire!" Luke exclaimed, reeling back in surprise with an arm over his face defensively for a minute as the rest of us just took an instinctive step back.

"_That _was cool," I admitted with a blink.

"What was that?' Tear asked as Mieu beamed proudly at our reactions.

"Neat, huh? I can breathe fire!" the cheagle happily declared. "So not am I useful at just interpreting, I can also clear paths and burn stuff to ashes!" He thumped his chest lightly with a paw. "I'm going to work extra hard to make up all the trouble I caused my friends."

Ion pressed two fingers to his forehead with a sheepish smile. "That's right, I'd forgotten that cheagles were a fire-breathing species."

"Yes we are!" Mieu hopped in his spot a few times. "But mine is special!"

"Special?" Tear repeated. "How?"

"I'm still a child, so I'm not supposed to actually breathe fire, but I can! Annnd-" Mieu waved a paw with an I-know-something-you-don't-know smile, "-no matter how much fire I breathe out, I _never_ get tired. And the Sorcerer's Ring makes my fire even stronger!" As if he needed more emphasis on his ability, Mieu turned back towards the rock and breathed out more fire at it, this time keeping the thin stream of flames going instead of the fireballs he performed seconds earlier.

"So the Sorcerer's Ring is good for more than just translation, huh?" Luke asked, smirking at the accessory around Mieu's torso.

"It was originally made to amplify fonic artes. It's a type of capacity core," Ion explained.

Tear shook her head. "But a flame of that size isn't going to be of much use in battle…"

As Mieu ceased his stream of fire and deflated at that, I gaped at the healer. "What? Did you just_ not_ see Mieu's fire just now? It looks big enough to burn down an old tree to me!"

"Yeah, and come on~!" Luke held his hands out, his eyebrows arched. "Breathing fire! That'll _be fun!"_ Walking forward, Luke then knelt down in front of Mieu with a scowl. "Hey, Thing!"

"Luke!" Tear snapped, placing a fist on her hip. "That's horrible!"

"Oh, shut up! It's fine for this little freak!" Luke barked back, turning to glare over his shoulder at the melodist before turning back to face Mieu. "Listen up, Thing," he commanded. "When I give the order, you spit fire. Got it?"

"_Mieuuuuu…_ yes, sir," Mieu responded timidly, his huge fluffy ears casted down like a scolded puppy.

"Good!" Picking the cheagle up with one hand by the Sorcerer's Ring, Luke stood up. "Now… how does this work?" he mumbled, reaching his free hand up and pinching one of Mieu's ears, causing the baby cheagle to let out a cry of pain.

"Luke!" Both Tear and I cried out at the same time.

"That's enough!" she ordered.

"You're hurting him," I complained. "Put him down! Your nickname to him is bad enough!"

_"Argh, pipe down_, will you?" Luke yelled over to us, now holding Mieu upside down and shaking him like one would a pepper-bottle. "I'm just trying to figure out how to make this thing spit fire _without _me having to tell it to. It would get too tiring."

"Luke…" Ion spoke up hesitantly, his hand out in caution. "I don't think you should handle a fire-breathing creature so carelessly like that… Who knows what could-"

"It'll be _fine_," he insisted, now holding a dizzy Mieu upright again. "Ugh, dammit! Thing, how could I make you breathe fire without having to waste my voice when I get tired!"

"Luke!" I tried to stop him once more, my eyes widening as he raised one fist up above Mieu's head. "Luke, wait! I don't think you should-!"

"Stupid little twit!" Luke snapped, bringing his fist down harshly down on Mieu's head.

"_Mieu!"_

_WHOOOOOSH!_

_"LUKE!"_ Tear cried out, as Ion's eyes widened and I gaped in horror when we heard him let out a long and startled yell as his coat now seemed to be alit with bright red and yellow flames that's almost similar to his hair but at the same not.

_"He's on fire!"_ I screamed in alarm as I backpedaled with wide eyes, not wanting to get caught in the flames. _Especially_ since Luke was running and jumping around in circles while frantically trying to swat at the flames with his hands to extinguish them. Mieu was dropped against the ground and was nursing his head, looking rather dizzy but still managed to have enough sense to crawl away before he could get squashed under the noble's foot.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorryyyyy~!" Mieu kept on saying repeatedly.

"Put me out, put me out!" Luke screamed as he continued to run around in a panic while trying to put out the fire on the material of his left shoulder. Tear rushed forward to help after pulling out a thin blanket from her bag, and I grabbed Ion's shoulder to pull him back in case Luke ran towards us in a frantic frenzy.

"Hurry, Tear!" Ion shouted in alarm as Tear started to beat the flames- and as a result, Luke too- with the blanket.

_"_Stop, drop and roll, Luke!" I ordered in a yell. "Stop, drop and roll! _Stop, drop_ and _roll!_"

Instead of doing as I instructed or staying still long enough for Tear to douse the flames off with the blanket, he instead unbuttoned his signature white coat and tore it off, throwing it to the ground. He patted at his left shoulder frantically- probably to get rid of the lingering heat there- while Tear grabbed hold of his burning coat and started to beat it against the grassy ground until the flames finally went out. When Luke bent down to pick up it, the area around the coat's left sleeve was completely scorched black, and ash fell from the burnt fabric when the noble tried to dust it off with a grimace.

"Aw man…" he muttered, a surprising look of pained regret present on his face before it was replaced by one of anger. "You stupid thing, look at what you've done! My favorite coat's all ruined now!"

"I'm sorry, I'm really, _really_ sorry!" Mieu wailed as tears started to flood his eyes.

Taking pity on the cheagle, Tear stepped in to intervene. "Luke, stop that. Don't blame Mieu when it was you acting careless that caused the fire," she said, clearly annoyed as she crossed her arms. "Now, have you leaned a lesson from this?"

"Never play with fire," I couldn't help but say with a joking smile. I quickly covered my mouth with a hand and looked away when Luke turned his glares towards me, trying not to openly laugh in his face and tick him off further.

"Don't try to pin the blame on me!" Luke yelled after he turned his attention back to Tear. "If the Thing could at least _warn_ me first, then my jacket wouldn't have been ruined by that little twerp!"

He then turned towards the cheagle and shook a fist at him. "You better hope the maids back at my mansion could fix it, or my family will be having roasted cheagle for dinner!"

"We _told _you not to handle Mieu like that!"

"Well, how am I supposed to know that the Thing would try to _burn_ me to death!?"

"Mieu had absolutely _no_ intentions of doing such a thing, and you know it!"

Not wanting to step into their argument, I tuned the two out to think about other related but better things.

Well, the fire wasn't completely a _bad _thing, I have to admit. I now had a more clearer view of Luke's very toned stomach and the muscles underneath his black shirt now that it was free of the white coat that often covered it. Oh god, this was _not _the time to ogle a man's body, I know, but… damn my hormones. Damn the game designers for making Luke a decent-looking male at the very _least_.

…

Oh… oh dear _GOD!_

_Never mind the fact of what he looks like now. I can't believe I just technically ogled a seven-year-old boy… Sam, you're so frickken' horrible!_

I almost… _almost _slapped myself to get rid of those thoughts, but managed to realize what it would look like and stopped myself at the last minute. Instead, I quickly conjured up images of handsome and _older _men to think of. Okay, think of Adam Copeland, think of Ashton Kutcher, think of Chris Hemsworth…

Okay, okay. That's better. I'm good now. No longer feeling like a pedophile.

"Are you alright?" Just in time to catch Ion's question, too! "You look like you just tasted something bad."

"Just thinking of the worst possible scenario when we get to liger territory," I quickly half-lied. Well, come to think of it, it wasn't exactly a lie since I _was _thinking about it just a little earlier. But still, I thought about it regardless, so that still counts.

"Let's try to have an optimistic way of thinking," Ion said, smiling faintly. "Let's not worry over things that haven't happened yet. There's even a chance it will go well."

"Doubtful," I couldn't help but say. At the look on Ion's face, I quickly added, "But that's just me being a realist. Ligers are… very fierce."

"I'm sure if we could just talk to their leader at length…"

"Wow kid, you're really hopeless, you know that?" Luke interrupted as he walked past us with Mieu grasped roughly in one hand, his ruined coat now slipped back on. Clearly, he and Tear were done with the bickering I've tuned out on and now he would lead while Mieu helps him navigate. "Let's just get going already. I want to be out of here by lunch."

"Got it," I answered the same time Ion did with an "Okay" as we all followed the redhead back into the forest. Since the ligers' territory was on the other side of the forest, we spent several long minutes just trekking through the forest in relative silence. Mieu was not only guiding our self-proclaimed leader towards the right directions, but his keen ears also gave him an idea of whether a monster was close to our vicinity or not and would lead us out of the way without straying too far off our original path. For several minutes, this plan was going well… until Luke got bored.

…For some reason, he even thought that lighting up random vineshanging from treetops, small bushes and even the mosses on tree trunks on _fire_ was a _great _idea to quench his boredom. I swear to God, if the entire forest ended up burning down on all around us, I'm strangling the kid. Already I could feel the heat from the nearby flames as they ate away at the foliage.

"Come on Thing! Fire!" Luke gleefully ordered for the nth time as he thrusted the cheagle out and squeezed on his torso.

"_Miiieeeeu…!"_

"Hey watch it!" Tear screamed after being forced to duck from a stray fireball that flew past over her head. "Be careful! What happens if you start a forest fire!?"

But Luke only laughed, as if the mere idea was ludicrous in and itself. "As if something like that will happen! Besides, if it did happen, it won't be my fault! This Thing's the one that's spewing fire all over the place!"

"But if something like that happens, I'll get everyone in trouble again!" Mieu exclaimed in wide-eyed horror.

Tear let out a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, the amount of idiocy I'm witnessing."

"Luke, perhaps you should let Mieu rest for now," Ion advised gently, staring worriedly at a burning piece of log a few meters away. "He's starting to look worn out."

"He's _fine_," Luke insisted, but dropped the cheagle to the ground regardless and continued walking ahead.

"Do fires attract or repel monsters?" I asked as I followed, turning to look warily at the fires we'll be leaving behind. They're all small ones, but I'm still worried about them, especially if they caught onto anything more flammable. No sooner did I asked that question did something round and green fell from the tree I was about to walk past and hung right before me, its ropey tentacles slowly reaching towards my face. "_Holy **FUCK!**_"

"What!? _What_!?" Luke asked urgently as he spun around to see me beat down the floating snail monster thing- a linail, I think its called- to the ground with my wooden sword in a way one would use a hammer.

"I think… she has it under control," I heard Ion reassure him from somewhere behind me as I lifted a foot and delivered a kick to the monster's shell and sending it to its side.

"That's not how you use a sword!" Luke protested.

"It's getting the job done, isn't it!?" I shot back as I stepped forward and thrust the wooden blade into the opening of the shell as hard as I could. Since I wasn't sure if it had really pierced the monster, I continued to stab at the monster in the same opening a few more times until I felt someone tap me on the shoulder: making me jump.

"I think that's enough," I heard Tear say. When I looked down at the linail, I noticed it was no longer moving. I pulled the wooden blade out to find it coated in a sticky black ooze-like substance… its blood, maybe?

Shivering and groaning in disgust, I quickly wiped the blade against the grass below.

"Shit, that thing really scared me," I said. "I mean, I turn around and _bam! _It was suddenly _in my face! _Literally! Jesus Christ!"

"Oh dear…" I heard Ion say. "I think… we just stumbled… and set on fire its kin's nesting place."

"Say what?" When I turned to look, I noticed that Ion was right. Several more linails- more than I could count- were slowly floating down from the burning treetops and down towards the ground. If we stayed any longer, we'll have a mob of angry linails on our tails, especially once they noticed we're here. "Oh crap, _RUN!_"

"Luke, go!" I heard Tear command as Ion and I bolted- grabbing Mieu from his place on the ground as we did so- past the redhead in the direction he was walking towards earlier. "We can't handle these numbers!"

"Whoa, _whoa_! _OKAY!_ Okay I _got_ it- _stop pushing me, _I'm _going!"_

I had no idea of how long we've been running until we finally came to a stop some miles away from the burning part of the forest at a wide river. As we all bent over trying to get our breaths back, I managed to gasp out, "Are we in the clear yet?"

With a gloved hand pressed against over her chest, Tear straightened her posture back up and looked back towards where we just came from. After two full minutes of everyone regaining back the energy they've wasted, Tear finally answered my question. "Yes. Fortunately, somehow, we're escaped that disaster."

Ion suddenly surprised us all by chuckling. "Fon Master, what's wrong?" Tear quickly asked as I placed Mieu on the ground.

"No… I'm sorry," he said. "I'm just… ahaha… that was really exciting, what happened just now. That was really… heh, I'm strange, aren't I?"

"Hell yeah you are!" Luke was quick to confirm with a snort.

"Haha, I'm sorry," Ion apologized again with a smile.

"Everyone! We're about to enter liger territory!" Mieu informed us suddenly, pointing at the rushing river before us. More specifically, the land on the other side of the river. "We cross the river and keep going!"

"Whoa… I guess all that running helped out," I commented with a surprised blink. I blinked in surprise for the second time when I noticed something else. "Oh, hey, that tree… was it always there bridge to the other side?"

Indeed. The tree that the player was supposed to burn down in the game was already knocked over the river to form a bridge. What does this mean? Did someone already pass through here? Or did a cheagle burn it down by mistake.

"Yes," Mieu answered. "We burnt that one down a while ago so us cheagles could cross the river when deliver the food to the ligers. The ligers could easily just jump over the ledge if they wanted to, we can't. The liger queen says that delivering their food is also part of our punishment for burning down their home."

Ah… that… that made more sense.

"Shall we get going?" Ion asked as he started to climb onto the tree bridge.

"Whoa, hold on!" Luke surprisingly protested before Tear could. "Don't go first! You might fall over or get attacked as soon as you reach the other side! I'll go first, then you and Samantha can follow after."

Tear looked quite surprised at Luke's reasoning, while Ion just smiled happily as he obliged the redhead's request and got back down. "Oh, thank you for worrying about my safety, Luke! You're such a caring person!"

Luke's face reddened at that, and he quickly turned away with a huff and crossed his arms. "Who's caring? Don't be stupid! There are just going to be even bigger problems if you went and get yourself drowned!" Luke then made his way towards the fallen tree as Ion moved aside while still having that knowing smile on his face. "Now come on! The sooner we get this down with, the better!" our group noble ordered as he climbed on top of tree.

The Fon Master nodded as he followed behind him. "Okay."

Luke watched Ion climb back onto the tree behind him. When he was sure that Ion wasn't going to stumble or fall over, he slowly made his way across the tree to reach the other side with Ion following carefully after him.

"You can go next," Tear told me, gesturing with a hand towards the fallen tree. "I'll make sure you don't slip into the water."

"What about me?" Mieu asked.

Tear smiled fondly at the tiny creature. "Yes, I'll watch out for you too, Mieu."

"Up we go," I said, bending down and picking Mieu up and placing him on top of my head. I would hold him with one arm, but I would feel much more comfortable if I had both of my hands available in case I fell over. Add the fact that I already had one hand full with Luke's wooden sword, even if I didn't want to, Mieu would have to stay on my head for now. At least until I crossed the river.

Huh… this reminded me of how Ash Ketchum from Pokemon would let his Pikachu ride on top of his head sometimes.

"Try not to drop any fur into my hair, will you?" I asked as I climbed on top of the tree and carefully standing upright. As Mieu promised that he wouldn't do anything of the kind and using the sword for balance, I carefully made my way across. I kept my eyes down at my feet as I slowly walked, trying not to stare at the fast-paced current of the waters below. I could swim… but I'm not sure if I could against a current _that _fast. I distinctly heard the clicking of heels against wood from behind me, and I felt less nervous as I knew that Tear could catch me if by chance I fell. Eventually, I soon reached the other side without incident, and Luke gave me a strange look when he saw that I had allowed Mieu to sit on top of my head.

"You look like a ridiculous," he was quick to remark snidely.

I merely raised a hand up as I walked past him, not in the mood for getting into a verbal argument with the young duke. I know he wouldn't take it back anyway, and fighting with him for an apology he'll never give would just put everyone in a sour mood.

_Oh, speaking of which._

I reached up with my free hand up towards my head. Understanding the gesture, Mieu climbed onto my palm so I could place him back down on the ground. And though he promised he wouldn't, I instinctively patted the hair on top of my head for any stray fur that may have fallen.

Suddenly getting the feelings of eyes on me, I felt myself shudder. Someone then grabbed my arm and pulled me back closer to the main party, and when I looked, I saw that it was Ion. He looked worried as he stared at something off to the side. I heard the sound of a sword being pulled out of its sheath, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke holding his sword, looking more than ready for a fight. With a feeling of dread as I understood what this could only mean, I looked over to where Ion was staring at, and my heart skipped a beat as I stiffened.

A small group of ligers were gathered together a good distance away, trembling and growling and staring at our group menacingly. Even from here, I could see the saliva dripping off from their fangs as they barred them at us.

"Are those ligers?" Luke asked quietly, positioning his sword in front of him and making the ligers growl even louder.

"Y-Yes. They're not happy that we're entering their territory…" Mieu said shakily.

"Oh, who cares?" Luke growled. "I think we can take them. Tear, you-"

"Wait. Waitwaitwait," I hastily interrupted as a thought suddenly came to mind, reaching out and grabbing Luke by the arm. "Wait… if we cause trouble, won't they call the rest of their friends? We're in _their territory now, _guys."

"But if we don't, they'll just attack us first!" Luke protested, roughing shaking my hand off.

"They're on guard, but they're making no moves to attack us for some reason," Tear observed with a frown, stepping next to Luke. "Why is that? Ligers are normally aggressive when it comes to intruders."

"I think it may has something to do with their shaky alliance with the cheagles," Ion guessed, letting go of my other arm which was holding onto my only source of protection that is the wooden sword. "Perhaps it is because of the fact that Mieu is with us?"

"Ah, I think I get it…" I murmured with a frown. "They think Mieu is delivering us to their leader as their food."

"_What?" _Luke hissed. "Thing, you better not stab us in the back!"

"I-I wasn't going to!" Mieu squeaked. "Never ever! I would never be the one to hand my friends over to the ligers to eat!"

"I don't want to fight them," I said, biting my lip at the sight of the ligers' sharp claws and just-as-sharp fangs. "Mieu, tell them that you're just taking us to their leader as food. Trick them. We can just visit their leader, go through with the negotiations, and _get out."_

"Yes," Tear murmured, holding her staff down. "That way, there's no need for us to fight. We can do this without any trouble. Luke, put down your weapon."

"Why should I?" Luke scowled at her. "Like monsters are going to listen to us!"

"Luke!"

"Miieeeuuu~!" I whispered fearfully to the cheagle on the floor, tapping it once on the head to indicate that he should put our plan into motion.

"O-Okay," Mieu said. We all watched him take a deep breath before taking a few steps towards the ligers before stopping to project his voice loud enough for the ligers to hear.

_"Mieu mieu! Mieu mieu mieu, mieu! Mieu mieu, mieu mieu!"_

One of the ligers growled at that, letting out a short roar in response to whatever it was that Mieu just said. Mieu jumped, but stood up even straighter in an attempt to look brave and self-confident. Luke was tense next to Ion, and Tear watched the entire thing with a straight face.

_"Mieu mieu, mieu! Mieu mieu mieu, mieu mieu mieu! Mieu!"_

The ligers growled quietly at that. Then with a sharp turn of its head, the liger that was standing at the foremost centre of the small group turned and started to walk away, with the others soon following it, though not without cold backward glances towards us. We all relaxed as we watched the ligers disappear back into the foliage they came from, and we all looked down as we heard Mieu fall flat against the ground with a whine.

"_Miiieeeeuuu…_ that was scary…" the baby cheagle said. From the tone of his voice, it was as if that short interaction with the ligers had drained him completely. "They almost didn't believe me, so I had to tell them that I was pretending to be your friend and was only tricking you all to go into their queen's den."

Sighing, Mieu pushed himself back up so he could turn around to face us with a stressed face. "They said I better not cause any trouble for them or the queen, or else they'll get everyone from their pack and rip us into a hundred tiny pieces."

Ion's shoulders slumped slightly, but nodded once as he turned. "I'm glad an unnecessary fight was avoided. Let's go see their queen."

"The queen?" Luke repeated as he sheathed his sword.

"Ligers live in packs formed around a giant female," Tear explained to him.

"Huh, so some monsters have their own hierarchy after all," Luke mused, rubbing his head. "Who would have thought?"

There weren't any more incidents or more encounters with ligers afterwards as we all quickly walked our way deeper into the ligers' territory. We had to walk through another fallen tree to cross yet another river and do a little more walking until we finally reached a humongous tree. There was a wide opening in the ground beneath it, which almost looked like an underground cave, and the tree's thick green roots were curved along the ground on either side of the entrance.

"Is this it?" Tear asked as she all stopped right in front of the entrance.

"Yes. This is the liger queen's lair!" Mieu confirmed, visibly swallowing. "I-I guess we better head on in…"

After we entered the giant hole, we could see that there was a trail made out of huge thick roots intertwining each other leading down towards the bottom. It was somewhat dark inside, with only beams of sunlight filtering in from the entrance lighting the place up. The air inside was humid and stuffy and well… it kinda stunk. It's almost the same scent you get when you enter a circus tent that hasn't been cleaned for a while. I fanned the air in front of my face, coughing a bit as the others made their way down. Luke had gone first, followed by Ion and Mieu, and then Tear and then finally me.

"This place stinks," Luke remarked, sniffing disdainfully from further ahead as he guided us down to the bottom. "Would it kill them to make one of them their cleaning maid?"

"I don't think ligers can…" Ion said absently as we all reached the bottom, seemingly staring at the large opening ahead that was located to our left. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes," Tear confirmed with a nod. I hesitated for a moment, wanting to delay what I know to be a failed negotiating meeting a little longer if I could, but Luke was already waltzing on ahead without even waiting for my answer, clearly impatient.

"Finally. Let's just do this so we can get the hell out of this reeking monster hole," he grumbled. With no other choice but to follow, I mentally prayed for my as well as everyone's safety, braced myself and then finally followed the others with a feeling of dread.

Upon entering the opening, we found ourselves in a very large clearing. At the far end of the room, there was a gigantic reddish-dark pink and pale-yellow beast resting in a nest made out of several twigs and leaves. I had to bite down a wail when I took note of the liger queen's large stature and how she towered all over us despite not even standing at her full height yet.

"That should be the queen," Tear stated, nodding over to Ion. He looked down to Mieu in turn.

"Mieu, please go talk with the liger queen," he requested politely.

"Yes, sir!" Mieu bounced half-way across the room towards the liger queen, before stopping and started to talk in his own language to her.

"_Mieu, mieu mieu mieu mieu mieu. Mieuuu mieu…"_

The liger queen slowly stood up at the sound of Mieu's voice, turning to glare at all of us. She then let out an ear-numbing roar that made us all wince and Mieu to scream in fear before scurrying quickly back to us: frightened tears leaking out of the corners of his round eyes.

"Hey, runt, what did she say?" Luke demanded as Mieu ran over to Tear- who had knelt down when she saw him heading her way- to hide his face in her lap while his entire body visibly shook. But when Luke asked the question however, he meekly looked up at him.

"She says her eggs are just about to hatch, so go away," he reiterated. Mieu's gaze then dropped to the floor in guilt and sorrow. "Her Highness is really mad that I accidentally burned their home."

"_Eggs?" _Luke gaped in disbelief, his green eyes wide. "_Ligers_ lay _eggs?"_

I wordlessly pointed over to the nest, and Luke followed to where my finger was pointed. Placed carefully together in the giant nest were three large pink eggs, with dark-green splotches decorating their shells.

"I was born from an egg too. A lot of monsters are born from eggs," Mieu explained.

"This is bad," Tear said gravely, standing up to face the liger queen who was barring her sharp fangs at us and growling. "Ligers are more violent when they're guarding their eggs."

"So, what?" Luke asked, looking from us to the liger queen and back again, clearly indecisive. "Do we come back later?"

"But if the liger eggs hatch, the young will likely swarm the village in search of food," Ion said, frowning deeply. His eyes were slightly narrowed, as if he realized just what is most likely about to happen next.

Oh, right… I forgot that this wasn't a normal food chain any more despite what I thought earlier. Even though I believe the situation between the ligers and the cheagles were none of our business, whether we liked it or not, it immediately became our business the moment that human lives were involved in the equation. Getting involved like we were now was necessary and can't be avoided. It _mustn't _be avoided, unless we could overlook the lives of the people at Engeve on our consciousness.

_Oh man… oh man… this is not good, this is not good at all._

Luke looked over to Ion with a confused face. "Huh?"

"Liger young like human flesh, so people hunt down any near cities before they can reproduce," Tear answered upon noticing the clueless look on Luke's face.

Ion took a deep breath and looked down at Mieu once more. "Could you ask them to leave this land?"

Oh… oh dear…. This is it…

"Y-Yes, sir." The young cheagle moved away from Tear and towards the liger queen once more, who gave him a murderous look. Mieu flinched a bit under her gaze as he stopped at a safe distance away, but stood up straight as he tried to speak to her once more.

"_Mieu, mieuu, mieu mieu…"_

I suddenly found myself bent over and with my ears covered as the liger queen let out a roar even more deafening than her last, and I couldn't help myself as I let out a scream that was lost to the sheer volume of her own voice. The liger queen's roar was loud enough to cause a tremor around the cavern we were in, and I felt the ground shook underneath my feet.

I heard a few things falling from the ceiling and crashing down to the floor. I heard Mieu let out a scream and I looked up just in time to see Luke cutting a tree-branch into half with his sword before it could crash down onto Mieu's head.

_"Mieu?"_ When he realized that he wasn't hurt, Mieu opened one eye to look up at his savior. "Th-Thank you!" Mieu said happily, opening his other eye and looking very much like he was on the verge of tears.

Luke only let out a grunt as he turned his head away. "Don't get me wrong! I wasn't protecting you, I was protection Ion!"

Despite the situation, I couldn't help but give him a raised eyebrow at that. He said that he was protecting Ion... but said green-haired boy was standing _5 feet behind Mieu _AND _behind LUKE himself _when that rock fell down towards Mieu. Honestly... did he think we would buy that? Oh wait... it's not like we have the _time_ to call him out on it now, because...

"Mieu, what did she say?" Tear asked in alarm when she saw the liger queen was now approaching us with a purpose. A deadly. Purpose.

Mieu's ears drooped low at that, and the happiness in his eyes from being saved by Luke was now replaced with a look that I could recognize as the 'we're all gonna die' look.

"She says she's going to kill us and feed us to her children…" he repeated her words dejectedly.

"Oh, damn it, why does she have to be so damn _cranky?"_ I stomped a foot to the ground as I let my frustration and anger over the unfair situation control my actions for a moment. Man, I knew must probably be hard to lay eggs _that_ big, but _damn it all!_

"Here she comes. Fon Master, please step back with Mieu," Tear advised, holding an arm out to block the liger queen's way to Ion. "Samantha, can we count on you to fight as well?"

"You're asking me _now?" _I asked incredulously, my panic getting higher now as I watched the liger queen slowly but steadily approach. "No, but… ack! Never mind! I'll do what I can, dammit! I don't want to get eaten! You better pay me big time if we get out of this alive!"

"W-Wait!" Luke interrupted us quickly, his own panic starting to show as he kept his eyes on the liger queen. "If we fight here, the eggs will break!"

"It's either us or them, Luke!" I snapped. Why the hell was he thinking about the lives of monsters that were going to kill us sooner or later, even if we don't plan to do anything to them!? "Forget about them, 'cause I'm looking after _my_ own _life _here!"

"Yes, it may be cruel, but that would probably be for the best," Tear told him as she held her staff out at the ready, her eyes narrowing in preparation for the serious battle about to start. "If we leave the eggs and they hatch, the young could easily wipe Engeve out entirely." She then bravely took off straight towards the liger queen.

In response to her charge, the liger queen suddenly roared as she reared up high back on her hind legs.

"Look out! The queen!" Ion shouted over the noise just as the liger queen brought down her paw to strike down on Tear, who immediately brought up a barrier around herself before it could strike her. Upon seeing this and realizing that there was no other way out of this, Luke shook his head in frustration as his resolve hardened.

_"DAMN IT!"_ Luke swore as he rushed forward to help.

I didn't want to fight. I didn't want to fight something that big and undeniably strong. What could I do with a wooden sword? No, even if I had a real weapon, I had no fighting experience whatsoever. There's no way I could be of much help! I'll just end up dead!

I should run. …No… even if I ran, there were the other ligers outside that would tear me apart, especially without Mieu to translate for my sake. But… But I can't just stay still either… what will the others think of me once the fight's over and they're still alive by the end of it? I know I shouldn't worry of what others thought of me, but in this case, they would have the right to look down on me if I refused to help. So… so…

I found myself laughing bitterly to myself as I watched Tear cast nightmare while Luke was running around the liger queen and dealing slashes across her thick legs. The liger queen, while clearly irked, did not seem to be in any pain whatsoever, especially as swirls and bubbles of violet surrounded her from Tear's arte.

"I… of course… it's not like I had a choice from the beginning, didn't I?" I asked myself, looking down with a smirk.

After all… this was a game. And no matter how much things you want to be different, the game will continue in accordance to the script written out. Everything was predetermined, the single lone path decided was set in stone… and the player's only job was to see it through till the end.

Didn't I say I'll play along until I find a way back home…? This is no exception. Only bad things I could imagine happen if I chose to sit out on the entire fight. Gaining everyone's dislike and letting the baby ligers hatch and raid Engeve being some of the main things.

Ho boy… looks like it's time to be suicidal. I don't think I have the heart to abandon everyone anyway, never mind the fact that we just met.

"Stay back close to the entrance!" I called back to Ion and Mieu behind me as I ran towards the right of the room and then around it, keeping my eyes on where the liger queen's rear currently was. Her back was towards her nest, and I could see Luke trying to cut up the queen's front limbs with his sword with several fang blades, but she merely turned from her attention to Tear and swiped a paw at him, in which he managed to jump back to avoid. While the liger queen was focused on Luke, Tear had swung her staff and immediately, a red and yellow hammer materialized out of thin air above the creature's head and dropped down on her. Pow hammer, I recognized. Unfortunately, it didn't even seem to even faze her, like all of the previous attacks.

I decided to take my chances as I rushed towards the liger queen's rear while Tear and Luke were keeping her attention on the front, and found myself involuntarily yelling as I tried to impale one of her hind legs with the wooden sword, but that failed miserably. Nut surprised at this but still disappointed, I resulted to hard wacks instead, hoping that she could at least _feel_ it, even if it felt like hitting a brick wall to me.

Next thing I know, I heard a deafening roar that almost shook my eardrums before I felt an almost indescribable pain in my entire torso as I felt myself being kicked back hard enough by the liger queen to send me flying, and I suddenly saw the image of the ceiling rushing past my vision before I felt myself colliding painfully against something hard with a loud _crack_. The wall? The ground? I didn't know… my back and my head were throbbing painfully, and I was seeing bright stars flashing before my vision.

It hurt. It hurt so much that I wanted to cry, and I was sure I must have broken something if that crack I heard just now was anything to go by. I'm dizzy, I felt hopeless, I could barely see anything at all, there was this incessant ringing in my ears, and I felt sticky as the scent of copper reached my nose. Am I bleeding? I didn't want to look…

…Oh, was that Tear singing I hear? Where's my sword…? Where did it land? Oh God… it hurts so much… I didn't want to stand up. So I continued to lie there in pain, wondering how much longer I'll get to breathe before I get killed here today.

Suddenly, there was a very bright green light that filled my vision, and almost instantaneously, I felt all my pain along with everything else associated with it fade away. I was left blinking a few times and wondering if I had imagined the pain from a moment ago, but the ache I still felt told me that I hadn't. I slowly sat up and rubbed the back of my head and torso with separate hands with a grimace. Wondering if I was indeed coated in my own blood, I looked down to see the reason why I felt sticky.

The sight that greeted me made me gag and nearly made me puke right there on the spot. I had landed in the liger queen's nest where her eggs were placed, and… and…

The crack that I heard earlier? Good news was that it wasn't me after all. Bad news was… it was the liger queen's eggs. And the reason I felt so sticky was because I was covered in blood… blood that wasn't mine.

The blood came from inside the eggs, now broken because I had accidentally landed on them. From within the broken eggs, I could see bodies through the wide cracks. Dead bloodied bodies of baby ligers close to be given birth to but got the chance accidentally snatched away by me and… they were so tiny and almost furless and the scent of blood was now stronger now that I paid attention to it and oh god what is that thick and dark-red thing next to me!? Is that… a fetus?

I found myself screaming in pure disgust as I jumped up- nearly falling over the broken eggs again when I stumbled- and away from the nest: frantically wiping the blood and other stud I'd rather not know the name to off from my body. I probably looked like a mad woman doing so, but I didn't care- I just want these stuff _off of me!_

"Hey, what the hell!? It's not dying!" I heard Luke scream as the sounds of the battle continued.

"This isn't good! Our attacks aren't hurting it at all!" I heard Tear say in a shout.

"So… So, do something! Cave girl, stop dancing and get over here!" I suddenly heard the sound of crackling electricity, and then Luke let out a shout of pain. When I looked up, I saw him getting thrown to a wall on the far side of the cave, purple electricity coursing through his body as he fell.

_"LUKE!" _Tear screamed, looking like she wanted to throw a healing spell his way, but was forced to pay attention to the liger queen as she started stomping her way towards her.

* * *

"_I, who stand in the full light of the heavens…"_

* * *

The liger queen doesn't looked mad anymore. Oh no, she looked absolutely _pissed_ to the lowest pits of hell. This was proved when she suddenly charged with livid fury towards Tear, who brought up another barrier just in time before the liger queen brought a heavy paw down onto her. I frantically searched for my wooden sword when I realized that she needed help. Maybe I could at least distract the liger queen while Tear heals Luke.

* * *

"…_command thee, who opens the gates of hell…"_

* * *

She did not stop there, striking against Tear's shield over and over again. Tear was starting to show signs of strain on her face as she tried to keep her shield up. Having found my weapon, I ran over to it and picked it up, but when I turned towards the battle to help, I was instantly faced by a bolt of purple lightning fired at me from within the liger queen's mouth and I found myself screaming as I felt my entire body being electrocuted: several needles of white pain surging through my veins and nearly causing me to black out right there and then.

* * *

_"Come forth, divine lightning!"_

* * *

_"TEAR!"_ I heard Ion shout from the entrance of the room, as I fell to the ground, my weapon slipping from my grasp again. I felt my entire body convulse as I shakily lifted my head up front the ground to see what was happening. Luke was struggling to stand up from his place on the other side of the room with his teeth gritted, and Tear looked like she couldn't hold her shield up any longer without anyone to provide coverfire for her. Try as I might, I couldn't even lift myself up without feeling pain explode from every part of my body.

_Are we… are we done?_

* * *

_"This ends now!" _

* * *

I could only watch with horror as the liger queen finally broke through Tear's barrier, shattering it into a million pieces with a rage-filled paw. Tear's eyes widened as the queen raised the paw up again for an undoubtedly fatal strike-

-and that was when I heard it: a deep, powerful voice belonging to that of a certain man, and I almost broke into relieved sobs right there.

"_INDIGNATION!"_

Because of all the noise going on during our battle, I supposed none of us had heard the incantation until its respective spell was cast.

Two large bright purple rune-engraved circles quickly appeared above where the liger queen was standing. Following their appearance, the sound of cracking thunder filled the entire room, before a single gigantic bolt of lightning struck down onto the liger queen in a flash of bright light: electrocuting her entire body as she roared, not in anger, but in actual honest pain for the first time during the entire battle as her body continued to burn further with each passing second the spell continued.

As the spell slowly faded away, and the bright light from it had resided… the entire cavern was silent, save of the cracking of electricity as sparks lingered all over the liger queen's body from the previous fonic arte. Her entire body shook with effort in order to stand tall, but eventually, it gave out on her completely as she fell limply to the side with a loud crash, sending dust up into the air.

The liger queen was dead.

I sucked in a deep breath as I heard Luke gasp from his place at the far side of the room. "Wh-Whoa… did you… _see _that…?" I heard him ask incredulously.

Tear's eyes were widened with surprise, and her head snapped over to the direction of the entrance where Ion and Mieu were, both now in the presence of a new arrival.

"You're…" she started to say, but trailed off.

I couldn't help myself: I smiled with relief when I saw _him_. Thank God… talk about good timing… I'm still alive… _we're_ all still alive because of him.

He was a tall man, clad in the traditional blue uniform of a Malkuth soldier. The buttons on the dress-coat were gold as were the linings along the edges of his gloves. Long blue boots and leggings worn underneath that were a shade darker completed the outfit, along with the dark-blue swallow-tail cape that flared out behind him slightly as he stepped forward with an easy-going smile. Brown hair fell about his shoulders, and his red eyes stared out from behind his glasses as he observed his work, a spear held in his hand.

"Well… _that _was pitiful…" he said in an amused tone of voice.

"…Jade," Ion said in surprise.

Jade Curtiss pushed his glasses up his nose quietly. Then, a grinning young girl poked her head out from behind him, the bushy pigtails her black hair was held up in using yellow ribbons bobbing along with the movement.

The girl was clad in a short simple pink dress that stopped pass her thighs with detached sleeves and purple cuffs. Over her dress was a white overtop with purple linings and a symbol of some kind at the very middle, with the back of it being a swallow-tailed cape with the same design. She also had on white gloves and long purple-cuffed white socks that went past her knees, as well as a stylish pair of brown ankle-length boots that were open on the sides. Finally, draped over her shoulders was a scary-looking doll: Tokunaga. Her round brown eyes were sparkling with life as she stared at all of us.

"Fon Master! I'm glad you're safe!" she cried happily, running up to Ion and holding both of his hands up in hers.

Ion smiled at the young girl in front of him. "Anise. I'm sorry for causing a lot of trouble for you."

"You should be! You had me worried, you know!" she whined with a small pout.

Annnd not just Jade Curtiss, but Anise Tatlin was with him as well. Thank goodness for them.

After being enveloped in the bright green light of First Aid for the second time today, I saw Tear delivering another one over to Luke as he walked over to my direction. Feeling a little better, I found the strength to push myself up to my knees as the noble walked past me. When I turned to look, I saw that he was staring at the gruesome sight within the nest with a disgusted grimace.

…Ah, now I understood why the liger queen was suddenly a lot more angrier all of the sudden. I felt stupid, because it should have been more obvious. She saw her kids killed right in front of her. And… if Jade and Anise hadn't shown up on time… I probably would have suffered a long, slow and brutal death by her once she was done with Luke and Tear first. It wasn't so much as her ignoring me for the most part as her saving me for last.

I… was very, _very _lucky.

* * *

**Whew! That should do it for this chapter! XDDD**

**Be glad that Jade pwned the liger queen with Indignation and cut the battle short... because it will take a LONG time before he could use it again thanks to the fon-slot seal. o_o**

**Do kindly review on your way out and have a nice day! :D**


	5. Interrogation

**September 3 2012: CHAPTER FIVE RE-WRITTEN**

* * *

**Interrogation**

"…This leaves a bad taste in my mouth…" Luke muttered bitterly, frowning at the bloody sight within the nest one last time before taking a few steps back and turning away from it.

As Tear walked over to where we were, she looked over to Luke with an expression of pity. "You're quite kind," she murmured. "Or perhaps just soft."

"And you're cold!" he was quick to retort as I walked over to where Luke's wooden sword was lying to pick it up.

"Oh dear, oh dear," Jade remarked jokingly from his place next to the entrance with Ion, Mieu and Anise. "Having a lover's quarrel, are we?"

It was funny to see both Luke and Tear snap both their heads over to the necromancer at the same time and giving him identical looks of indignation. They even protested at the same time, too.

"Shut up!" That was Luke.

"Colonel Curtiss, we don't _have _that sort of relationship!" Annnd that was Tear, of course.

"I'm joking," Jade said, though the amused smirk did not leave his face. "And please, call me Jade. I'm not accustomed to being called by my family name."

"…Jade, I'm sorry for running off and doing this," Ion said to him, looking away guiltily for a moment before looking back up at the much taller male.

"It's unlike you to do something like this when you know it's wrong," Jade said with a frown, the amused look that was previously on his face now gone.

"Together with Yulia, the cheagles are the foundation of the order of Lorelei. I felt like I had to take responsibility for any trouble they caused…" Ion explained.

There was a brief moment of pause from Jade's side as he seemed to consider something. It was as if he's trying to find something in Ion's guilt-filled eyes. Eventually he found it.

"…You used your powers, didn't you?" Jade asked, though the tone of his voice showed that he probably already knew the answer.

Ion bowed his head in silent apology, confirming his answer. "Yes… I'm sorry… but…"

At that moment, I noticed that Ion was staring at me from the corner of his eye as he trailed off, drawing me to Jade's attention as well. I fidgeted on the spot, feeling uncomfortable being stared at by _Jade_, of all people. Come to think of it, I was with Ion when he used his powers. Me being there when the wolves attacked gave Ion more of a reason to use them despite his frail health.

Great. Now I felt guilty even though I knew that Ion would have used his fonic artes anyway whether or not I'm there.

"Even though the doctor told you not to." Jade sighed quietly, looking back at Ion. "Not only that, but you've involved civilians as well."

Noticing the guilt-ridden expression on Ion's face, Luke quickly stepped in to intervene. "Hey, old man, stop being so stingy. He's apologizing right? Give him a break."

Ion looked over to Luke with pleasant surprise as Jade raised his eyebrows. Even Tear and I were staring at him, though I was only doing so because I felt amused. Really, the boy kept going back and forth between bratty and kind like he's in a ping-pong game.

"Oh? I expected you to complain about being dragged into this. I'm a bit surprised," Jade commented, folding his arms behind his back. He then shrugged. "Well, we don't have much time, anyway. I'll stop the lecture at that."

"The letter arrived, didn't it?" Ion asked.

The Malkuth soldier nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Now, let's go ahead and get out of this forest."

Mieu quickly climbed up Luke's coat, up his shoulder before bouncing right on top of his head so he could see Jade eye-to-eye as best he could. "No. We have to report to the elder," he protested.

Jade's eyebrows arched up in curiosity as he took in the cheagle. "A cheagle speaking a human language?" His eyes then dropped to the ring on Mieu's torso. But before he could even ask about it, Luke had thrown Mieu to the ground and was grinding his foot into the back of the cheagle's head. Okay, now that's going a bit too far now.

As everyone else continued their conversation, I reached out and grabbed one of Luke's wrists, attempting to pull him back and away from Mieu. "Luke, stop it, please! Cut it out, you're going to give him a concussion or something!" I pleaded as I tugged harder on his wrist.

"Let me go, cave girl!" he ordered angrily.

"Not until you let _Mieu _go!" I argued.

He pulled his arm back, nearly sending me crashing me into him had I not planted my feet harder against the ground. "Let me teach the twerp a lesson first!"

"No!" I protested. Next thing I knew, I was flat on my ass on the ground when Luke suddenly pushed me with both his hands. As I winced at the pain in my rear, Luke fortunately stopped his assault on Mieu, though he was now shaking a fist at me as he glared down at me with a deep scowl on his face.

"Seriously, who do you think you are!?" he demanded angrily. With how bad his temper seemed to be at the moment, I was worried that he would throw a punch as I pushed myself back up to a standing position, but he did no such thing, thankfully. "You and Tear, always telling me what to do and what not to do, I'm sick of it! You guys have a lot of nerve! No one back home tells me what to do! _No one! _So shut _up _already!"

I opened my mouth to argue back in defense to myself, to say something- _anything- _but no words came. I couldn't even look at his burning gaze and the intensity it emitted, and I found myself looking away with my lips pursed.

I heard Luke give a snort of disdain for my silence. "That's what I thought."

"Luke! Samantha! Stop it now! We're going!" Tear called over to us. While Luke and I were having our struggle, the others had been discussing among themselves about the Sorcerer's Ring, the cheagle elder and everything that happened thus far. Now, with their plans set, some of them were already moving out of the entrance.

Still evidently ticked at my involvement of what he believed to be justifiable punishment, Luke roughly pushed me out of the way as he walked past, grumbling darkly under his breath. Rubbing the offended body part, I let out an angry sigh but said nothing as I followed.

"Ah, it's so good to see young kids playing so well together," Jade remarked with a dramatic sigh, holding his hands up as we all walked past him and a laughing Anise out the entrance.

"_SHUT UP ALREADY!_ _All_ of you!" Luke roared as he stormed out. Mieu immediately scurried after his savior, calling for him to wait for him despite how he had just been treated just now.

That poor little fool… is he an idiot? Fine. Let's see if I bothered to help him out next time if the first thing he does is to continue to stick to Luke's side and talk until he snapped once again.

As I followed Tear and Ion up the giant twisting roots that was the path-slash-stairway in and out of the cave, I looked back and noticed that Jade and Anise were still hanging back, with the former whispering something into the girl's ear. Anise was nodding a few times, and when he pulled away, she gave him a grin and assured him that he could count on her.

As Anise rushed past me, she gave me what I guess she supposed was her best innocent smile despite the fact that I saw her and Jade conversing something that they clearly did not want the rest of us to know.

"What-" I started to ask, but she quickly cut me off.

"Oh, the colonel was just telling me about how he thought the guy with the red hair was so mean to you," she lied, plastering a fake look of sorrow on her face to drive her lie home. "Of course, he didn't want him or his girlfriend to hear, so… yeah, don't tell anyone what you just saw, okay? S'cuse me, I need to use the ladies room, so you guys go on ahead."

With a wink, a smile and a peace-sign, Anise then ran up the pathway and out of sight. I knew that she was going to leave Cheagle Woods to get the Tartarus and a group of soldiers to arrest us. Well… Luke and Tear, at least, because I've done nothing wrong that could warrant an arrest.

Still… everyone's about to leave soon, and I still had not found anything out of the ordinary that could be the way home. I'll be alone… what should I do now…?

I jumped when Jade suddenly clapped me once in the back. "Come on. Let's not dawdle any longer, shall we?"

"Uh, y-yeah," I automatically responded as I started to walk up the root path, uncomfortably with the Necromancer being so close. I struggled for a conversation to pass the time. "Um… thank you for helping us back there. Um… I guess I owe you my life."

"Oh, it's not a problem," he replied smoothly with a shrug. "Good thing that you didn't mind my intervention. I would have left everything for you to handle considering it was your business, but I found your fight to be too upsetting to just bear witness to any longer."

I let out an embarrassed laugh as I rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand. Though I was expecting that sort of remark from him, it doesn't make it any less embarrassing to be actually be told that so bluntly. "Yeah, that… that was bad, I know. My bad."

"I know that the two with you are called Tear and Luke," he started, "but I have no idea who you are, nor do I have any recollection of ever seeing you in Engeve."

"Uh, Sam. Samantha, whichever you prefer," I said, trying not to slink away from the man or power-walk away from him. If he saw how nervous I'm being, then wouldn't that make him suspicious? Though I was extremely happy seeing him earlier, now, I'm actually intimidated by him. Out of all people that could see straight through me and any lies I might pull… this was the man. "I am, uh, a traveler. Ended up here by accident and met the others that way."

"An accident?" Jade asked just as we reached the top of the pathway. The sun from outside shone onto our faces.

"Got mugged and ran from the thief and ended up here completely empty-handed save for the clothes I'm wearing now," I repeated my false backstory, keeping my eyes straight ahead so he won't look into them. Seeing the others waiting outside, we walked over to them. I was secretly grateful that I wouldn't have to talk to Jade any longer alone. The guy just… unnerved me.

"Anise just ran on ahead," Ion said when we joined the group. "She said to just go on ahead without her." He looked up at Jade. "Is there something-?"

"No," Jade said immediately with a shake of his head. "Let's just say that she has someone business as a lady to take care of. I'm sure she'll catch up soon enough."

"Before we go though," Luke started, turning to Ion with a look of curiosity on his face. "Hey, Ion?"

"Yes?"

"How'd you learn strong moves like that you used earlier? Could I learn to do that too?" Luke asked, looking both eager and hopeful.

"That was a Daathic fonic arte," Ion started to explain. "You see, it's-"

He was cut off when Luke suddenly raised a hand. "Wait, wait, I don't need some long explanation. Just tell me if there's some easy way to get stronger."

Tear pressed the palm of a hand against her temple in response to Luke's request. "…You're unbelievable."

The noble turned to sneer at her. "What?"

"I'm afraid that doing such a thing is impossible," Jade agreed. "Only Fon Masters can use Daathic Fonic Artes." He then sighed. "Even if it were impossible, I don't think I would feel safe standing even within a twenty foot radius away from you. You could get us all killed without even trying."

Luke pointed a finger at the Malkuth soldier irritably. "You, shut the heck up! I need to get stronger, and I need to get stronger _now! _The fight with the liger queen told me that much! Do you get it now!? Or do I have to speak more slowly for you to understand?"

"Please don't fight," Ion pleaded. "I'll tell you an easy way to get stronger."

The anger instantly was wiped clean from Luke's face to be replaced by eagerness. Wow, talk about mood swings. "Really? How?" he asked, nearly bouncing.

"What kind of capacity core do you use, Luke?" Ion asked.

"Capacity core?" Luke repeated, his face pinched in confusion. "…What's that?"

The Fon Master's eyes widened in surprise. Even Jade looked a bit taken aback. "You don't know?" Ion asked.

"He's somewhat ignorant about the world," Tear explained.

"Oh, what a sheltered life it must have been, too," Jade remarked airily. "I'm surprised, truly."

"Well, excuse me!" Luke shot back at them sarcastically. He then blinked in surprise when Ion suddenly walked towards him. When he reached the redhead, Ion lifted one of Luke's hands to place something in it.

"Then take this, Luke," Ion said as he pulled away with a smile.

When I turned to look, Luke was lifting up a golden bracelet that looked like it has runes carved onto it. "Is this a capacity core?" he asked.

Ion nodded. "Yes. You can think of it as an accessory with a fonic arte applied to it. Your body's abilities will increase in accordance with the fonic verse inscribed. These days, even regular citizens wear them as fashion accessories."

"…But even if I put this on, I won't be able to use the arte you used earlier?" Luke asked, remembering Jade's comment about the Daathic Fonic artes.

"I'm sorry, but as Jade said, only Fon Masters of the Order of Lorelei can use Daathic fonic artes," Ion replied.

The redhead actually pouted in disappointment. "Oh, that sucks."

"But with a capacity core equipped, you can learn special abilities," Tear told him. "Use it well, and you'll be strong enough."

"How's it look?" Luke asked a bit smugly after he slipped the bracelet onto his left wrist, holding it up for all of us to see.

"It looks good on you, Luke," Ion praised, looking genuinely pleased.

"Cool. Now I can get stronger, too," Luke said as he dropped his arm. He surprised me by suddenly looking over to where I stood. "…I don't suppose you have one for cave girl too? She's so weak, it's pathetic."

"For Samantha?" Ion looked over to me as well, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, but I don't. The one I gave you was one of mine, but I believe it would serve you better than it would me. But when I get another one-"

"No," I interrupted, holding my hands up with wide eyes. "No, no, it's okay. I'm… I'm good, really."

"What? You _enjoy _being weak?" Luke asked with a scowl.

I shook my head, trying not to roll my eyes at him. "No, it's just that I don't want anyone to give me anything. Don't spend any money on me, please. Makes me feel bad. Especially since I can't pay you back." Suddenly remembering where we were, I quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, let's get out of here. I'm afraid ligers are going to pounce on us soon."

"Agreed. We still have to report to the cheagle elder," Tear said. Luke looked like he wanted to push the matter further, but when everyone started to walk away, he only huffed and followed.

* * *

By the time we arrived back at the tree that housed the cheagles, Luke was in such a high dudgeon that even Ion did not dare to try to talk to him. The reason for his ire? Jade… just… Jade.

I believe it was safe to say that even though we had encountered ligers and other monsters on the way back, there was _no _battles. At all. Because Jade just one-hit-killed all of them. We were all surprised at not just his spectacular strength, but his very quick casting as well. Though I knew that Jade tends to want to be lazy, he can be quite the help when he puts his mind to it. This was proof of that. Of course, we all knew that Jade just wanted to leave the forest ASAP.

Though Tear, Ion and I were glad for him… Luke only get ticked with each battle that Jade won for us, dubbing him to be a 'show off'. It didn't help at all that any verbal shots Luke sent his way, Jade would wittily return them right back at him without anger, but with amusement at the younger boy's attitude. So yes, Luke was not pleased, _not pleased at all._

He was still steaming as we all sat down and waited for Mieu to finish delivering his verbal report to the cheagle elder. To their credit, the other cheagles all sat in silence as well as they listened to Mieu's story, which I was glad for. Luke truly looked like he was about to blow if one more thing set him off.

Some time into their discussion, Jade broke the semi-silence between us by murmuring, "It's quite amusing to watch monsters talk like this."

I almost missed Tear's almost breathless remark, but somehow, I still heard it: probably because I was sitting right next to her. "…_They're so cute!_"

Luke clearly heard it as well, because he craned his neck to look over at her with a confused expression on his face. "Huh? You say something?"

I turned to see Tear blushing as she looked away, clearly embarrassed at being heard. "N-No…" she lied.

We all looked over as Mieu and the cheagle elder approached us, the latter with the Sorcerer's ring held between his furry paws. "Mieu told me what happened," he said in English since he was the one with the ring. "You met with great danger on our behalf. We are grateful that you have kept your promise even after two-thousand years."

"Of course," Ion murmured with his head bowed and his hands clasped. "Aiding the cheagles is part of Yulia's teaching."

"But the original cause of all this was Mieu burning the ligers' home," the cheagle elder pointed out. "So I will have Mieu atone for his mistake."

I'm not sure if Mieu could still understand the human language without the ring or if it was the tone that gave it away, but Mieu's expression turned downcast. His ears drooped down low especially when he- and now I, now that I paid attention- noticed the judgmental expressions on the rest of the cheagles' faces. Clearly, they all still blamed Mieu for them mess he threw them all into. And if any cheagles were eaten that we did not know about prior to our arrival in this forest, well… I wouldn't be surprised that they weren't so quick to forgive despite the queen of their predators now being dead.

Tear suddenly looked worried for Mieu's sake. "What are you going to do?"

"I will exile Mieu from our tribe," the old cheagle stated.

Ion grimaced in disagreement, his eyes sorrowful. "That's too cruel."

"Naturally, I don't mean forever," the cheagle elder assured us. "I hear Master Luke saved Mieu's life. Cheagles do not forget their debts. Mieu will serve Master Luke for one cycle of seasons."

Luke suddenly shot up from his sitting position, his hands held up. "Hey, I'm not involved in this!"

"Mieu insists upon accompanying you. Master Luke, I leave it up to you to decide what to do with him," the cheagle elder said, his tone final.

"Why not take him along?" Tear suggested as she turned to face the redhead.

"I don't need a pet!" he protested vehemently.

"Cheagles are the sacred beasts of the Order of Lorelei. I'm sure he'd be well-received by your family," Ion said.

Rolling his eyes skywards, Luke scratched the back of his head before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Hmm, I guess I could give him to Guy and the others as a souvenir…"

"I'll do my best to be useful, Master!" Mieu promised happily, the sorcerer's ring having been passed back to him again. The sound of Mieu's voice caused one of Luke's eyebrows to twitch.

"You're so annoying…" he hissed, his fingers moving in a way that suggest he wanted to strangle the cheagle.

"Well, it appears his report has ended," Jade noted. "Let's leave the forest."

Rolling his eyes once more, Luke turned away with his arms crossed, looking very much like a petulant child. "…Humph. Who died and made him boss?"

"I guess we'll be taking the Sorcerer's Ring with us too, then?" I asked, watching Mieu walk over to a certain group of cheagles I recognized to be his family from earlier and speaking in his native tongue, all of them looking rather tearful as they bade each other farewell.

"I… guess so." Ion turned towards the cheagle elder. "Is that really alright? Giving us such a precious artifact…"

The cheagle elder let out a string of positive-sounding mewing sounds in response, but the only thing we understood from him now that he wasn't holding the Sorcerer's ring were his nods.

"I guess that's a yes," I remarked, just as Mieu returned to our group while wiping a few tears from his eyes.

"Okay. I'm ready," he said with a sniff.

"Are you sure?" Tear asked kindly. "Because if you need a few more minutes…"

"No, I'm okay," Mieu assured her, smiling bravely as he did so. "Besides, I'll be seeing everyone again after a cycle of seasons. I'm going to have lots of fun and work very hard for Master until then! And then I'll have lots of stories to bring home for everyone!"

"That's a good way of thinking," I complimented, with Tear giving a nod of agreement.

"Then let's go already, before the old man complains again," Luke declared, already leaving the cheagle tree ahead of us. Calling back towards his family with a few more last-second farewells, Mieu quickly bounded after his newly declared master, the rest of us following. As soon as we were all out of the cheagle tree and were back in the forest towards the exit, we were treated to Luke's vocal thoughts for most of the way.

"Honestly, why me?" Luke complained with a groan as he crushed an innocent twig underneath his shoe as he passed it. "Ion! I was helping Ion, not the stupid Thing!"

Not letting his comments get to him however, Mieu beamed up at his savior as he grabbed onto the edges of Luke's coat. "Master! I'm really looking forward into seeing your home!" he said before swiftly climbing up Luke's back and onto his shoulder.

"_GAH!_ Get away! Stop annoying me!"

Tear let out wistful sigh as she watched Mieu climb all over Luke's hair in an attempt to avoid getting swatted away. "Ohh… I wish I was in his place," she whispered, one arm folded across her torso and her other hand resting on the side of her face.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the adoration in her eyes. "Ah, Tear?" Realizing that she had spoken out loud without meaning to, Tear immediately dropped her hands back to her sides and regained her composure in an attempt to look more stoic. If anything, what she did just now only made my smile grow wider.

"You should have asked the Cheagle Elder if we could take another cheagle with us then," I joked.

Blushing when she realized that I have heard what she just said, it took a moment for my suggestion to sink in for her eyes to widen in response.

"I can't," she replied, sounding horrified at the mere idea of asking for another cheagle to bring along with us. "For one thing, I don't think any of the other cheagles would be willing to come with us, regardless of what we've done to help. For the next thing, having two cheagles would mean that they would have to pass the Sorcerer's Ring back and forth between each other every time they want to say something to us."

With my eyebrows arched, I shrugged in reply. "Good point. Plus, I think Luke's about ready to pop a vein by having just one cheagle around."

Almost by comedic timing, my claim was proven correct when Luke finally managed to get a hold of the baby cheagle in his hair and threw him to the ground before power-walking ahead. Mieu only sat up, shook his head to get rid of the dizziness he was no doubt experiencing, and then chased after the redhead again. And to think that Mieu had honestly believed that Luke was only _playing _with him…

"Forgive me for intruding on your conversation." We both looked over to Jade as he moved over to us as he walked so we could talk easier. "But I have to ask since we're on the topic… cheagles are a fire-breathing species. Mieu is no exception, correct?"

"That's right," Ion confirmed, also joining in our conversation. "But Mieu could breathe out fire despite being so young. That makes him special in a way, since baby cheagles can't do that."

"Yes, otherwise Mieu would not have been able to burn down the ligers' home." Jade nodded. "Now, this brings me to the question I want to ask: were you somehow related to the small part of the forest being on fire? I must say, that was a rather telling way of informing me of the general direction of your whereabouts… though I did not care much for the herd of those snail-like monsters that I have to take care of."

We all paused in silence at the question, each of us looking sheepish as we all simultaneously directed our gazes up ahead to the monster-imprinted drawing on Luke's back. Jade followed our gazes and nodded to himself, not looking at all surprised at our silent answer.

"Ah, now I see," he murmured.

"Forgive him, he means no ill-will to anyone," Tear said immediately. "Dense, perhaps, but not cruel."

Almost as if on cue, Luke had chosen that particular moment to kick Mieu away. Understandably, Tear now looked embarrassed at having her clam being proven wrong almost immediately after getting it out. "…Um…"

Without even missing a beat, Jade dryly replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

Oh… poor, poor Tear. She just got unintentionally been made a fool out of by the very man she's defending. Her face flushed, Tear walked away from us as fast as politeness could allow and over to Mieu so she could pick the cheagle up and hold him within her arms.

With Ion then pulling Jade into a new conversation about something or the other, I was left in the middle of the group to wander over my own thoughts. I knew that this wasn't going good for me so far. Not only was everyone about to leave, but I also had not seen anything that could lead me back home despite waking up here. At the rate we're going, I'll probably be dropped off at Engeve while everyone continues on their adventure. I had no money, no supplies, _nothing_ whatsoever that could help me adjust in this world. Once I'm at Engeve, I'll be completely on my own until who-knows-when, and have a difficult time. Maybe I should take up jobs helping with the farms or market stalls there? I think the mayor would be kind enough to let me hang out with her for a while, if I let Ion plead my case for me. She seemed a kind and gentle lady in the game.

That should be the logical course of action, right? I _should _have gone with that plan. But there was just one thing keeping me from doing so.

Being left alone in this world _terrifies _me.

I was never a confident person, never a people's person, and never an independent person among other things. I don't believe in myself enough to get through this insane situation on my own. I have no doubts I'll end up in trouble if left to my own devices.

Then… what other choice do I have? Follow the party of heroes around like a lost puppy? Ugh, doing such a thing… there's no pride in doing that.

But even though it may be prideless of me- selfish, even- to do so, it was actually an idea that I was actually comfortable with. I would be with a group of people I know and am familiar with, and I would be aware of everything that would happen to them. Heck, maybe I could actually be useful while with them and help out!

It would be dangerous. I knew it would be dangerous. Only a fool would willingly join a group despite knowing the dangers that would befall them later.

If… if that's the case… then let me be a fool. At least this fool would be protected and be around people that she knows she could trust in this foreign world.

Of course, if I wanted to stay with them, I needed to give them a reason to bring me along. I need to get stronger, not just for their benefit, but for mine's as well. In this world, learning how to fight could and _would _be a life-saving skill to have.

Well, fighting's something I could actually learn if given the time. However, what of my role? To the group, I'm just a random traveler they just met. They had no reason to bring me along. Everyone in the party has an important status to their names. Luke's the King of Kimlasca's nephew and soon-to-be-ambassador, Tear's a Locrian Sergeant from the Order of Lorelei, Jade's a Malkuth colonel, Ion's the Fon Master and Anise his guardian. When they would join later, Natalia's status as the princess of Kimlasca would not be something to easily forget, and though Guy may seem like a mere servant and Luke's best friend at first, even he turned out to be an important duke. And Mieu? He's good for translating monster languages. _I _have no weight to my name, and thus, no pull. Or was it push? Either way, you get what I mean.

…Well, that's something I won't be able to help with. And I can't just say that I know the future of what's to happen to the group. Having no evidence to back me up, not only will they not believe me, but they'll probably think I'm insane and lock me up: it's not like Jade can't do that. Looks like I'll just have to focus on getting stronger so that they'll _have _to bring me along. I'll _give _them a reason to be bring me along. If I couldn't…

…if… if I couldn't… then I… I don't know what else I could do…

I frowned, staring down at the only weapon I currently had in my hand and felt eyes narrowed at the sight of it. I needed something better… I needed a new weapon that could, not only deal better damage, but something easier for me to handle as well.

But for now, before it could seem that I have some ulterior motive for wanting to go along with the group, I'll need to implant myself to the party _now._ If I waited too long, then Jade or the others would find no reason to bring me along with them, especially since, in their eyes, I'm just an ordinary civilian. I have to implant myself _now_, so it would seem more likely that I just wanted to go with them for fun, before the more serious stuff would start to happen.

"Oh, Tear! Tear~!" I made myself sang as I hurried over to her side with a smile. Time to play innocent. "What will you do once we get back to Engeve?"

I noticed how her shoulders stiffened a bit, probably because she realized she would not only have to lie, but to continue with the backstory she I knew gave Jade the previous day, especially since said man was in our presence. Luke realized this too, because I noticed him slowing down so he could listen to our conversation better.

"Luke and I… we'll be heading towards Chesedonia," she said. I waited for her to say more, but when she didn't, I took that as my cue to continue my lie.

"I wanted to go to Grand Chokmah… but I guess I'll have to change plans now that I got everything stolen from me," I said with a sigh, intentionally throwing out the sympathy card for them to catch. I knew Ion could hear me and would throw me a bone, but Jade wouldn't. But there was no way to gain his trust at this stage, so I'll leave him be for now: Tear and Ion were the ones I'm aiming for. If I'm lucky, Luke _may _just feel pitying enough to just shrug me off and just tell me to do whatever the hell I want. That would help as well.

"Looks like I'll be heading back home to stock up, so I guess we're heading to the same place then. You won't mind if I tag along, do you?" I asked as nicely as possible while putting on my best hopeful face.

"_WHAT!?"_ came the expected exclamation from Luke. He stared back at me from over his shoulder, his eyes wide. "You want to come with us!?" His eyes suddenly narrowed. "No way! One annoying chick is bad enough!"

"Excuse me?" Tear asked in a clipped tone of voice as she narrowed her eyes as well, glaring at him.

"You heard me!" he spat at her before turning around so that he was walking backwards to glare full-force at me. "Get back on your own!"

"Please?" I pleaded as sweetly as I could, clasping my hands together and looking up at him. "We're going the same way anyway, right? I really don't want to travel alone. Like you said, I'm not a good fighter, so I'll probably get killed on the way."

I then looked over to Tear, who looked torn between agreement and hesitation. "If it's money you're worried about, I promise to pay you back when we get there," I said.

Okay, maybe I wouldn't have enough money by the time we get to Chesedonia. But I _will _pay them back one day. Just taking advantage on their kindness like this made me feel like shit already.

Then, to hopefully wrap things up, I added, "I don't mind if you want to take some stops or stuff like that along the way. Besides, it'll be fun hanging out together a little longer, don't you think?"

"You wouldn't mind taking Samantha with you, would you?" Ion asked suddenly. "I would feel better if you all are traveling together if you're heading the same way, and Samantha doesn't have enough money to provide the necessary provisions for herself yet."

I had to refrain myself from squealing and jumping up and down and glomping Ion out of gratitude right there. With that, I already knew that he would be on my side regarding my situation. God, I _have _to buy him a cup of ice-cream or something later on. His kindness needed to be repaid.

"Besides…" Jade started, sounding very amused. He's probably sticking to Tear's story despite what he for now so he wouldn't make her suspect him of anything… or maybe he just wanted a reason to screw with Luke since the noble kept rubbing him the wrong way it seemed. "Luke, you wouldn't be willing put a fair maiden in distress by letting her travel all on her own, would you? Surely your family had at least taught you the basics of being a gentleman."

"Of course," Ion said in Luke's defense before the redhead could defend himself. "Luke's a very considerate and kind person. He's just…" he trailed off.

"Too embarrassed to show it," I finished for him, trying not to smile at the blush on the aforementioned noble's face. "Oh, I'm sorry Luke. Did I say too much?"

With a sound of disgust, Luke threw his arms up and turned away. "_NO! …_And _fine! Whatever! _Do whatever the hell you want! Just don't get in our way! And _stop_ giving me that look already! It makes me feel so damn weird!"

…Look…? What look? Did I unintentionally give him the puppy-eyed look? I almost wished I had a mirror just to see what kind of expression I had right then. If I had, then I would be very surprised. When's the last time I pulled that look, intentionally or not?

But, nevertheless, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief overtake me when I realized that I was successful in getting at least some of the part members to accept me. Now, if I stuck around longer than I should, they wouldn't question me later about it, hopefully.

Still feeling rather blissfully weightless not that a certain weight had been lifted off, I walked up so that I was by Luke's side. When he looked down at me suspiciously, I hoped he could see my gratitude when I smiled up at him more genuinely.

"Thanks. But, really, thanks Luke. I owe you," I said truthfully. My hand itched to maybe take his hand and give it a light squeeze, or maybe to even pat him on the back, but I kept it still. It would probably be too much, anyway, and I believe Luke's already feeling embarrassed from my words alone.

And I was right, because he turned his bright-red face away with a growl. "Sh-Shut up! I'm not doing this to be nice! You suck at fighting, so I'm just doing you a favor! Don't make such a big deal out of it!"

I laughed. "Even though that's meant to be an insult, it's also the sad truth. But seriously… thanks Luke."

"I _told_ you not to make a big deal out of it! Geez…" Shaking his head, Luke quickly stomped on ahead once more.

"Well, now that _that's _settled, are you worried Tear?" Jade asked lightly, and his smile could be heard in his voice. "You have now potential competition for Luke's attention."

"Colonel, I told you that our relationship is _nothing_ like that," Tear insisted as I bodily twitched. Me and _Luke? _I know the man was just joking around as usual, but still!

Feeling the need to defend myself as I well, and after turning to face him with a deadpan stare, I added, "That's one of _the_ most craziest ideas I've _ever _heard. Don't even joke about it Jade, 'cuz it's not funny."

"Oh, but I'm not. It is not hard to see that the seed of love has already been planted, and will soon grow into something beautiful," he said with a dramatic sigh, closing his eyes with a smile. Oh, he's just _enjoying_ this, isn't he?

I felt myself twitch again. "You… you are so _weird._"

"Either way, the very idea is preposterous, Colonel," Tear stated sternly, crossing her arms. "Luke and I will never see each other that way. Personally, I believe his attitude is far from endearing."

Oh, if only she knew. Just wait and see, Tear. Just wait and see.

"I'm going on ahead before my mind implodes from the images Jade's giving me," I declared before hurrying on ahead to stick close to Luke so I won't have to endure any more of Jade's teasing. When I did so, I distinctly heard Jade telling Tear to hurry up before I could 'steal Luke away' from her. I then heard Tear say something in response that I couldn't quite make the words out of, before the next thing I knew, I saw her walking past me and up ahead as well.

Hahaha, no one could stand Jade's teasing.

I was forced to a stop when Tear and Luke did before bumping into them, staring at their backs with a confused frown. Why did they stop? From what I could tell looking out past them, we seem to at a huge clearing and there doesn't seem to be any monsters, so why- _Oh._

"Hey, isn't that your bodyguard?" Luke asked as he looked over at his shoulder at Ion as a pink blur could be seen running towards us. I heard Jade and Ion coming to a stop behind us as well before the Fon Master answered.

"Yes, that's Anise."

"Welcome, back~!" Anise sang with a huge smile as she skipped to a halt right before us, her arms held apart from her sides like the wings of a bird before it was about to take flight.

"You came all the way here just to find the right ladies' room?" I couldn't help but ask meaningfully, staring at her knowingly. She just totally brought a bunch of soldiers back with her along with the Tartarus to arrest Luke and Tear.

Oh, shit… I forgot to consider this scenario when asking to be part of the group earlier. What will I do if Jade decided to leave me behind after all? In would probably ask him to bring me along, but…

The raven-haired girl giggled in response to my question. "Oh, you know… hard to find the right cover area that's completely free and empty, and all that~! And leaves! Gotta have lots of leaves to clean up with after all~!"

"Oh, too much info in front of the guys, hun," I mumbled with a facepalm.

"Anise. What's the status of the Tartarus?" I heard Jade ask from behind me, ignoring our previous exchange.

Anise gave him a knowing smile, before pointing an arm back towards the direction from which she had just ran from as she walked over to him and Ion.

"It's in front of the forest, just like you asked. You said to hurry, so we came as fast as we could~!" she chirped.

"Well, so you guys are leaving now, right?" Luke asked, looking at Anise, then over his shoulder to Jade and Ion. "Wellll, it was nice knowing you, Ion." He then gave Jade a distasteful scowl. "…And… you too. I guess. …Scratch that, it wasn't. Tear, Cave Girl, let's get going already."

Tear respectfully nodded over to Ion and Jade before she and Luke started to make their leave. I blinked, confused for a moment, before jogging up so that I was walking by their sides. Wait? We're leaving, just like that? Aren't there supposed to be Malkuth soldiers?

The forest, which had been for the most part quiet with the occasional chirps from birds from tree branches, suddenly seem to come to life when the sound of rushing footsteps, the rustling of fabric and the clanking of metal reached all of our ears.

…Oh. Slightly delayed timing, huh?

Next thing we knew, several dozen men in blue uniforms and armor emerged from the foliage all around us with their blades drawn. Feeling intimidated, I scuffled a little closer to Luke, while Tear looked shocked and confused with Mieu letting out a frightened squeal from within the comforts of her arms.

"Oh, I don't believe we'll be parting from each other anytime soon," Jade remarked too casually for the tense situation we're all in.

"Hey! What's going on!?" Luke demanded angrily, swerving around. He seemed to be about ready to march right over to where Jade was when the soldiers in front of him pointed the tips of their blades at him in warning.

His eyes wide, Luke quickly backpedaled until he was back-to-back with Tear, with me standing awkwardly in between them and staring wearily at the soldiers on my side. We would be obviously outnumbered if we even tried to think of fighting back…

Jade then threw an arm out as he issued his order. "Restrain those three! Two of them are the ones who've been emitting the Seventh Fonons!"

"Wh-What about me!?" I cried out, clutching the wooden sword close to my chest. "What did I do!?"

"Just standardized caution," Jade responded. "Don't take it personally, now."

"Y-You expect me to be calm about this…?" I stammered, pressing back even further against Luke and Tear's arms to try and get away from the swords from touching me.

"Jade! Don't do anything to hurt them!" Ion pleaded as he grabbed onto Jade's arm. He looked over to where the three of us were pushed together with swords aimed uncomfortably close to our throats and gave us an apologetic look.

"Don't worry, we won't kill them. …Assuming they don't resist." Jade looked over to us once more. Though his next words seemed joking, the look in his eyes were dead serious, and he wasn't smiling. "Be good kids. Take them away."

* * *

"_ARRGHH_! _What the hell is all this!? Who do you think you are!? Let me go already!"_ Luke roared, slamming his chained fists down on the table in front of us.

"Luke, just be quiet for a moment," Tear ordered with a sigh, as calm as always. Her wrists were also chained, and she had them placed on her lap. "Listen to what they have to say, and you'll get your questions answered soon enough."

I looked down at my own wrists, which were also chained together by handcuffs. Mieu was seated at the table, the only one not being bound in any sort of way. They either didn't see him as being dangerous, or Jade believed that Mieu wouldn't be stupid to attack them when the rest of us were still bound.

Standardized caution huh…? Did that mean they see me as being suspicious? In my mind, I immediately put my story together, just in case I get interrogated… which I probably would undoubtedly will in just a few minutes.

After they had taken our weapons away and forced down handcuffs on all of us, we were forcefully guided out of the forest and into the Tartarus where they had then placed us into a small and rather plain empty room that consisted of just a steel table and a few chairs around it.

The Tartaurus was really huge from the outside. And when I say that, I mean HUGE! It was like a giant white ship lined with gold and made out of metal that moved on land, with several cannons on each side. Its appearance was like that of a ship, and the similarity was made more uncanny with the giant sails held above the Tartarus' entire body.

I looked up just as Jade placed an open map down on the table in front of us, with Ion and Anise standing on either side of him. Other than those three and Luke, Tear, Mieu and I… there were only two other soldiers in the room, both positioned on either side of the door in case one of us chose to be stupid enough to try and make a break forit while still being handcuffed. Talk about being cautious…

"The Seventh Fonon hyperresonance came from the direction of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear," when Jade said this, he moved a finger from one section of the map to another as he continued, "and converged inside Malkuth territory near TatarooValley."

He then straightened up, looking at all of us with a frown. "Now, if you two, Luke and Tear, were the source of that hyperresonance, that would make you guilty of illegally crossing the border into a country, wouldn't it?"

Luke let out a loud sigh, resting his chin on both his chained hands. "Jeez, you're obnoxious."

Anise giggled at Luke's remark, looking up at Jade and nudging him in the side with an elbow. "Hehe, he called you obnoxious!"

Unable to help myself, I found myself smiling as well. I quickly ducked my head down in order to hide it, less by chance I made things worse for myself.

"I'm terribly hurt," Jade said with an amused smile as he closed his eyes and placed a hand to his forehead, looking anything _but _hurt. He then dropped his arms, re-opening his eyes and looking serious once more as he looked over to Tear.

"But moving on. Tear, we already know you're with the Oracle Knights." He then looked over to Luke and I. "You two, however… your backgrounds are a mystery to us. Would you care to enlighten us with your stories? Samantha, let's start with you."

I had to honestly refrain myself from groaning out loud. I _hated_ to be put on the spot like this! But what choice did I have?

"Yeah?" I asked, leaning back against my chair and attempting to cross my arms. With my wrists handcuffed however, that didn't work out well, so I just held them awkwardly to my chest. "What do you want to know?"

"Just the basics. Where are you from?" I tried my best not to look away from Jade's face as he stared at me intently. "I'm already aware of your story of how you arrived at Cheagle Woods and meeting with Fon Master Ion with him confirming your tale, but what about your life before that?"

"Where I'm from? Here and there," I answered vaguely, moving my bonded wrists from side to side and trying not to let my nervousness show in any way. Already my heart was pounding from being interrogated by Jade, who I knew would be very intelligent and also very difficult to gain the trust of.

"I'm afraid you have to be more specific than that," Jade stated.

"I mean… I don't live in one place for too long," I lied with sigh, forcing myself to stay calm and not shudder at Jade's penetrating gaze. "I can never find myself settling down anywhere for some reason, so I'm always moving back and forth between places. You could call me a traveler… who likes to avoid fights unless necessary, if you would."

"Didn't you have a home at Chesedonia?" he pointed out.

"More like a tiny shack, but yeah," I answered quickly. Pausing in hesitation would screw me over. "I wouldn't even call it a home. Just a place to return to in case I needed to take a break or to resupply."

"Friends? Family?" Jade prodded.

"In their respective order, I don't have any. Well, actually, I have just have a very few number of friends, actually…" I had immediately changed the last part of my answer, knowing that I would probably need to have the so-called 'friends' in case I needed an excuse for something but don't have one. Well, at least the fact about me having a very few amount of friends wasn't a real lie… like I mentioned before, I wasn't popular at all in school, and I was a loner. The only real friends that I had were the ones that I chatted with on the internet back home.

I continued, this time with lies again. "As for my family… I don't have one. I'm an orphan. Anyway, overall, I'm always moving. I work simple jobs just enough so I could live comfortably, then move on to the next place and repeat the process. I've been traveling outside of cities as far as I could remember with an old friend… before she got killed just a few years ago. I've been on my own since then."

There, see? Already I needed an imaginary friend to make my story seem a bit more convincing. At least they would now believe that the reason that I will seem like an amateur traveler was because I was too used to traveling with someone else. Same with my lack of fighting skills once they noticed them: I'll just say that I'm used to having someone covering my ass for me.

As for the orphan thing… at least that way, if they try to find information about me but couldn't find official profiles of me in any of the cities in Auldrant, then they won't think much of it. I'm poor, I'm an orphan, and I tend to wander around… they will believe that I never had the time or the money or the thought to make an official citizenship card or something.

That is, if they _keep _official profiles about all the civilians living here. Do they have profiles of all their respective citizens like the people back on Earth did? I'm not sure, but it's best to be safe about it.

"So you don't know where your place of birth is?" Jade asked, rubbing his chin.

I _really _didn't like the look he was giving me with those red eyes of his. He wasn't buying my entire story, was he? I bet the only thing that's keeping him back from outright calling me a liar was the lack of evidence. Just as there weren't any evidence to support my claims, there also weren't any evidence they could use _against_ me. My story probably _does_ have a lot of holes in it, but it was the best I could think of for the time-being. It was already too late to change it, anyway.

"No," I answered, looking down at my lap.

"Is that so…?" he mused quietly, clearly unconvinced.

"Hey, jerk, if she says she doesn't know, then she doesn't know," Luke spoke up, looking quite bored. "Besides, why would Cave Girl lie? I mean, one look at her weird clothes is enough to show that she's been living in a cave or something all her life, never mind what she says about having a house."

…I honestly had no idea whether to be relieved or insulted at Luke's support. I decided to be grateful and let his comments hang up in the air.

Jade merely one of his eyebrows at Luke's words. "Oh, so you believe her story? Well, each person has their own thoughts and opinions, I suppose. Anyway, what about you, Luke? What's your full name?"

I quietly inhaled through my nose in relief. Than God… Jade had decided to let me off the hook. Even though I knew it was only for now, I'm still relieved. Somehow, I managed to get through my part of the interrogation.

Luke straightened up in his seat at that, giving Jade a hard stare that could only belong to those of royalty. "Luke fon Fabre. I'm the Luke you idiots tried to kidnap."

Anise and Ion both looked shocked and surprised at the declaration, while Jade continued to keep his calm posture.

"The son of Duke Fabre, who married into the Kimlascan royal family?" Jade asked, placing a finger to his lips in thought.

"A Duke!" Anise gasped, her hand up over her mouth in pleasant surprise. "Ohhh…"

I raised my eyebrows when a grinning Anise suddenly turned her back to us, probably already thinking up of ideas of how to get Luke to like her so she could marry him for his money. Oh, the girl probably couldn't control her own excitement right about now… it was almost a miracle that she wasn't bouncing around and squealing at her good luck.

…Now that I think about, after Akzeriuth, Luke would become every girl's dream man, wouldn't he? Later on… he would be nice, strong, considerate, caring, handsome, rich… okay, he won't be as _smart _as Jade, since he could be rather dense when it comes to a few things. But as of right now, I could see where Anise's extreme elation came from. Young, decent-looking, probably influential, high in status _and _strong? Those were probably good bonuses to Anise next to his wealth. And once she finds out that he could be semi-nice when he wants to be… yep. She'll be on him for a long while.

Jade continued his questioning. "Why are you in Malkuth? And what's this about a kidnapping? That doesn't sound very pleasant."

Tear stood up from her seat at this, holding her chained hands close to her chest as she looked at Jade eye-to-eye to show that she was serious.

"Colonel, the kidnapping aside, this is all just an accident. We're here only because our Seventh Fonons caused a hyperresonance. I swear to you, it wasn't an act of aggression against Malkuth by House Fabre," she announced assertively.

Ion nodded from his place before looking up at Jade. "Colonel, I believe Tear is telling the truth. I don't feel any hostility from him."

Jade nodded to himself at that, dropping his arms and now looking quite amused. "Yes. It does seem he's lived a sheltered life, completely ignorant of the world outside. But what of the girl?"

"Samantha tried to save me from a pack of wolves back in Cheagle Woods," Ion reminded him. "She could have just ran away and left me on my own to save only herself, but she didn't. I don't believe she's a bad person either. Just an innocent bystander who's at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yes, I personally don't see her as a threat at all despite her obscure background," Jade remarked. "If she had really meant any harm from the beginning, she would have been much better prepared. Also, she did not take the chance to kill you despite having a good chance to do so when you were both alone in the forest. Any at least if she does try something, I'm sure even Anise could take care of her alone."

"Hmph. Fine, make fun of us," Luke scowled, looking away as I poked the insides of my cheeks with a tongue, trying not to smile. Yes… I was definitely off the hook for the time-being. I wasn't even insulted that Jade had more or less poked fun at my blatant lack of fighting ability and my seeming lack of intelligence…

…Actually, scratch that. Now that I thought about it, that did stung a little. Though it may be true, did he have to announce his thoughts like that in front of everyone?

"Actually, why don't we ask them for their help?" Ion suggested.

Not wanting to stand out when I saw it, I pretended to look confused alongside both Luke and Tear as Jade started to explain their plan to us. "We're headed for Kimlasca under orders from His Majesty, Peony the Ninth, Emperor of Malkuth."

Tear's eyes widened in apparent horror. "To declare war…?"

Luke stood up angrily at the suggestion, toppling his chair over with a clatter. "What, _what? _Are you saying that a war's gonna start?" he shouted, his eyes ablazing as his nostrils flared. He was even shaking a little from the rage inside of him.

"You've got it _backwards, _Luke!" Anise informed with a smile, wagging a finger up in front of her. "We're trying to _prevent_ a war from breaking out."

Jade sighed at that, pressing two fingers to the bridge of his glasses as Luke calmed down somewhat. "Anise, that's not public information," he reminded her.

"Why not?" I asked. "If you're only looking for peace, then why keep it a secret?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that now, unless you're all willing to give us your cooperation for this," Jade replied.

"What, why?" Luke asked, frowning deeply. "Are relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth really that bad?"

Tear turned her head to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "I think you're the only one who _doesn't_ know."

"…You know, you're obnoxious too," Luke spat.

"We're going to release you now," Jade informed us, making us all look up as one of the soldiers standing guard by the door walked towards us with a key in hand. He stopped by Luke first, who held his hands out so the soldier could take the handcuffs off.

"I'll grant you permission to enter any area you wish, apart from those containing military secrets," Jade continued to speak as the soldier now started to work on Tear's handcuffs. "First, learn a little about us. Then, if you feel you can trust us, we'd like to ask your help. So that we might prevent this war."

I held my hands out as the soldier stopped by my chair, and he slipped the tiny key into the lock of my handcuffs and gave it a twist. Immediately, the cuffs around my wrists came loose and the soldier took them away. Feeling better now that the heavy handcuffs were gone, I massaged both of my wrists to get the blood flowing again.

"If you want us to help you, why don't you just tell us what's going on?" Luke demanded, irk clearly written all over his face as he massaged his own wrists as well.

Jade crossed his arms. "If we were to explain and then you decided not to cooperate with us, we would be forced to hold you captive."

"What…?" Luke asked incredulously.

"This matter is a state secret. That's why I'm urging you to make up your mind first," Jade explained. "I hope we have your understanding. Now, if you would excuse me…"

Turning around, Jade walked out of the room. After he had left, Ion spoke up. "I'm sure they'll tell you the details after you agree to help. I'll be waiting."

After offering us a reassuring smile, Ion and left the room as well, quietly closing the door behind him as he left.

* * *

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**Next chapter: The Tartarus Tour!**


	6. The Tartarus Tour

**The Tartarus Tour**

"Soo, Luke~! Where would you like to go, first?" Anise asked sweetly, keeping her arms wrapped around the red-head's arm as they pranced down the hallways ahead of Tear and I. Well, actually… Anise was the one prancing, and Luke had to hasten his steps a bit to keep up with her: looking quite befuddled at her enthusiastic behavior. Poor thing… having to deal with Tear and I for an entire day, and then meeting someone like Anise is sure to throw his mind into a confused state.

I had noticed with amusement that Luke had already tried to push Anise away from him (though unlike with me, he's trying to do it subtly) just a few moments back, but that only made Anise cling tighter to his arm, and making him cease his attempts at pushing her way.

Seriously, poor Luke… he probably never had any girls act like _that _towards him before when he was holed up in his manor every day of his life. For all I know, he could be a little disturbed, though he tried to hide it from his face.

But hey, with his attitude shown towards us today, I think he deserved it.

And looky there! Luke's actually being _decent _in a conversation for once! I guess since Anise is not admonishing him for something, or talking about something he's not aware of, OR arguing with him… he's _actually _being decent with her the most than any of us today!

"Where? Well, uh, I don't kow anything about this ship, so… what's on it?" Luke answered hesitantly, as they walked to the left before going to the right again. You see, as Luke and Anise are walking together, they keeping from moving from left to right and back again like a swing, probably from Anise's excitement. Poor Luke is just keeping up with her pace for some reason.

But again, he deserved to deal with the weirdness of it.

"Well, other than the many rooms on this ship that everyone can sleep in, there is the lounge where everyone can relax, the cafeteria, well, a small one at that, a weapons storage room, and the bridge. There's also the engine room if you're into fontech. Oh, and there's the big room they use for meetings," Anise listed them all off, swaying Luke off to the side again as they continued walking.

"That's it?" Luke sighed, sounding disappointed. "Doesn't sound very interesting."

Anise shrugged. "Well, the Tartarus is a battleship, so it can't really compare to a cruise liner. Oh, and the Colonel might not want you going to the bridge or the engine room, so…"

"So basically, all that's included in your tour are the hallways. Yeah, great place…" Luke muttered. Though I am walking behind him with Tear, I could perfectly imagine the scowl on his face.

"Noo~! Not at all!" Anise laughed. "Cheer up, Luke~! We can still go to those other places that I told you about! Luckily for you, they're all in this certain hallway! See? You won't have to walk far! Hmm, if you want, you can relax with me in the lounge, if you like~!"

From the corner of my eye, I could see Tear placing the palm of her hand against her forehead.

"She's gonna throw out _soo _many suggestive hints to him, I bet!" I whispered quietly to her, having to hold down on my laughter. "Woow… she must really like him, huh?"

Well, I _know _that Anise actually likes his _money_, but it's still so funny!

"With the fact that Luke's just going along with her, he would also be giving her the wrong ideas, as well…" Tear murmured, shaking her head.

I snorted, smiling to myself. "No… I think he's just oblivious to it all…"

"He's oblivious to _everything _around him," Tear whispered back to me, so that the two ahead of us won't hear. "I am quite aware that he has lived quite a sheltered life, but he's using that as an excuse for everything he is unaware of… isn't that a bit too much?"

"Even sheltered people would at least know a few things," I nodded, thinking about myself. I'm always the introvert, so I rarely went out to have fun unless my entire family's going. But even then, I would know to _pay _for something when I want it from a shop. Heh… oh Luke…

"…I like the color," I said out loud suddenly, looking around.

"Huh?" Tear blinked over to me, and Anise turned to look at me over her shoulder.

"Ah, nothing. I just said that I liked the interior of the Tartarus," I said, gesturing at the area around us.

Unlike the way it was in the game, the hallways of the Tartarus are much wider, which gives us plenty of room to move about in. There are many several wooden doors to our left, with only a very few of them marked with a metal template on them. On our right, are several circular windows lined with gold, which shows us the moving landscape outside.

The walls and ceiling are a purplish-blue in color, with wooden floors and the occasional golden supporting beam above our heads. Running along the center of the ceilings are blue fonstones, which are lit to be used as the lighting here by heating them.

Funny thing is, Luke didn't ask about them as soon we left the room we were previously held captive in like he did in the game. Well, I guess that would make sense. Since those things are to be used as lighting in this world, then that would mean every house in Auldrant would have them. I guess in the game, the creators just made Luke more retarded than necessary to give information to the players.

"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" Anise nodded. "Sure, it's a battleship, but it can't hurt to make it a little homey after a grueling battle, right?"

"I think the sight of the colors would make me relax, for sure," I smiled, imagining myself returning from a hard battle to a place like this.

"Hmph, at least the Malkuth army decided to make their battleships more grand," Luke muttered. "At least I can sleep easily than I did with that carriage that took Tear and I to Engeve."

"What? Too bumpy for you?" I guessed, raising my eyebrows.

"Not just bumpy!" Luke exclaimed, throwing his free hand up into the air. "The seat's all lumpy, it's noisy, I got thrown out of my seat a few times, it's too small, too tight, and it _smells _like the liger queen's lair back at Cheagle Woods!"

"Smell?" Tear questioned, blinking in puzzlement. "If there was a scent like that, it must have been too faint, or else I would have noticed it…"

"If I say it stinks, it stinks," Luke stated assertively, rolling his eyes upwards.

"Now, who said that moving vehicles are comfortable to sleep in?" I asked, shrugging lightly. "But, it can't be helped, so we just have to deal with it."

"Here is the lounge~!" Anise suddenly sang, stopping in front of a wooden door with a metal template on it. She reached out to open it with her free hand, and then pulled Luke in alongside with her as she entered.

At the moment, there were only a few number of Malkuth soldiers hanging around, either relaxing alone or talking amongst themselves.

The lounge is of a decent size. The walls, floor and ceiling looked the same as they were out in the hallways, though they are more… decorated in a sense. There was a wide, massive picture of Auldrant's world map taking up most of the wall on the far side of the room. The floor is covered with a red carpet, and the lighting in this room is much brighter.

To our left, there are two wooden bookshelves, and to our right, there are a line of of red couches with a few armchairs. At the very center of the room, there's a furnished table surrounded with wooden chairs: which are occupied by some soldiers as they are all playing a card game of some sort. In the corners and any other kind of spaces left, they had placed some potted plants to give the room a more homey feeling, I guess.

All in all, a relaxing place.

"Master! I like this place!" Mieu piped up, happily bouncing up from where he was standing close to Luke. "It's so quiet, relaxing and peaceful!"

Luke rolled his green eyes. "Yeah, it was, I guess… until you went and opened your big trap."

Mieu's puffy ears immediately drooped at that. "_Mieuuu…"_

Luke ignored the light-blue cheagle however, and went over to plop down on one of the empty couches to our right with a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Man, I'm beat from all the walking and fighting we did today… I just want to get home already. I don't even _remember _when I got _this _tired."

He abruptly leaned further back into the couch he was sitting on, and looked quite honestly uncomfortable when Anise placed her hands on his lap, leaning forward to him and wagging one gloved finger close to his face with a smile.

"If you agree to help us, then I promise that you'll reach your home soon, Luke~! Fon Master Guardian's honor!" she told him him in a sing-song tone of voice.

"I know, I know! I get it!" Luke sighed in agitation, reaching out with one hand and pushing Anise back to give himself some personal space. "Tch, you all are so annoyingly persistent."

"Luke, remember that they're trying to stop a war from breaking out," Tear spoke in a low voice. "Surely, you don't want that either, do you? Be more serious about this whole thing."

"Stop lecturing me as if I'm an idiot!" Luke snapped, making the soldiers in the room turn their heads around to stare at us. Okay… awkward. I shifted from one foot to another in my place.

"I get it, okay?" His eyes narrowed in on the Melodist as he stood up from the couch. "I'm thinking about it, just like you all would want me to do right now! But with all the unfair treatment given towards me, it's making it really, _really _hard, you know!"

"Luke… you're making a scene…" I murmured quietly. "Calm down."

"Hmph!" Luke stalked his way back towards the door and yanking it open. "Let's just _go _to the next room of this tour, will we? With all the crap that happened today, at least give me _some _time to relax!"

"Master! Please wait for us!" Mieu called out, immediately bouncing out the door after his master as I took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Whoa…" Anise shook her head in bewilderment, before noticing the attention that we're getting from the other soldiers in the room. "All right! Nothing else to see! All of you, go back to what you were doing!"

At her request, the soldiers all turned their heads away and went back to what they had been previously doing before Luke went on his tirade.

"Such childish behavior…" Tear muttered as the three of us made our way out the door.

"Oh, don't be mad at Luke!" Anise pleaded. "Anyone would be crabby after a rough day. I bet he'll be _back_ to normal after we're done with our tour!"

"Too bad him being back to his normal behavior is not much different from how he just acted," I said, biting my bottom lip.

Tear sighed in agreement. "Don't give him too much credit, Anise…"

"Hey~! Where's our next location?" Luke called to us from his place further down the hallways, his arms crossed and one of his legs out and pressed against Mieu's head to keep the cheagle from getting any closer to him.

"Luke! You use a sword, right?" Anise asked, running up to him. "Because the weapons storage room has _A LOT _of swords and other weapons on display! They're kept there in case a soldier gets their weapon either stolen or broken."

"Really?" Luke raised his eyebrows up, looking interested. "Oh cool. That's fine with me. I wonder if there are any awesome swords they could let me have…"

"The weapons in the storeroom are not really for sale," Anise informed him with amusement. Then, encircling her arms around his arm once more, started to guide him happily down the halls with the rest of us in tow.

"Hmph. I could let the mansion pay for everything in that room if I wanted to," he stated, smirking smugly.

"Hmhmm!" Anise giggled. "I don't think the Colonel would like that, though."

"Ugh… that guy…" Luke groaned in distaste. "Who does he think he is, anyway! First he treats us like criminals, now he expects us to help him! If I had known all this would have happened, then I would have never bothered going to the Cheagle Woods in the first place!"

"But if you hadn't done that, then Master and I wouldn't have met," Mieu pointed out from his place between Tear and I with a smile.

"Oh, shut up, you annoying Thing!" Luke shouted, turning his head to glare at the cheagle in between us. "First of all, I didn't order you to speak! And second: that would have been a _good _thing!"

"You're truly horrible, aren't you?" Tear asked rhetorically, crossing her arms as she walked. "Don't listen to him, Mieu."

"You're really annoying too! This whole entire thing is all _your fault _in the very first place! Everything is nothing trouble the moment_ you_ invaded my manor!" Luke yelled, yanking his arm out of Anise's grip so that he could turn around and point a finger at Tear.

"Everything! _Everything_ is your fault! If you hadn't tried to killed Master Van, we wouldn't have gotten lost out here in Malkuth territory, I wouldn't have been accused as a thief back at Engeve and made a total fool of, I wouldn't have gotten my clothes all ruined, we wouldn't have met either Mieu or Samantha, the liger queen could just hatch her eggs without any problems, and we certainly, _certainly _wouldn't have gotten arrested!"

My eyes narrowed angrily, and I felt my insides burn hot with anger. "And what, pray tell, is wrong with me? Because I'm _sure _that I'm no less pleasant than _yourself."_

"_You_ shouldn't complain!" Luke retorted. "I never _asked_ you to come along! You weren't of much help in the first place!"

"Oh, please, _please _don't say mean things to each other!" Mieu protested loudly. "Can't we all be good friends and get along?"

"Not when he's acting like that…!" I hissed, crossing my arms and allowing nails to dig into skin in order to distract myself from my anger towards that red-headed fool. Hypocrite… such a total damn arrogant hypocrite!

Tear raised a hand up in order to prevent any more verbal assaults from any of us.

"I understand that it is my responsibility to see that you reach home safe, and I will do just that," she said calmly, keeping her patience. I'm sure all of us arguing together won't be easy to stop anytime soon.

"However, Luke, you could at least not make the trip back any more harder than it already is. We will reach Kimlasca again soon, so bear to be patient a little longer. Don't go starting fights with others in the meantime."

"Well, excuuuse me!" Luke scoffed, turning his back to us.

"…Uh, look! The weapons storage room is up ahead!" Anise suddenly declared, looking rather nervous. "Lets hurry and take a look, shall we? Come on, come on, the day's not getting any younger!"

I inhaled deeply as Anise quickly guided Luke away, sucking in my lips in hopes to quell my annoyance and anger. It didn't take away the sting of Luke's words, however.

…Dammit… I _can _help… just not with a useless piece of wood, though… I _know _I can…!

I felt a gloved hand touch my soldier, and I look up to see Tear.

"Ignore his words," she said. "You did the best you could to help, and that also counts for something."

"He's right, though…" I sighed as we walked after the other three. "I barely did anything at all during the fight with the liger queen."

"Both mine and Luke's attacks did not even faze it at all," Tear told me. "She was a powerful beast. It was the Colonel who took everything into his own hands, even though Luke might not want to admit it."

She offered me a slight smile. "And if I recall correctly, was it not you who had given the idea to negotiate with the ligers? If we had not done that, both the cheagle tribe and the village of Engeve would continue to have problems."

It wasn't really my idea, though… I had only wanted to speed things up. I knew that the party would do it anyway, with or without me.

I gave her a forced smile. "Uh, thanks… I would feel better if I could help in real battles though. I'll… I'll think of something. Don't want to slow you all down."

"Doing so will help you as well," Tear nodded in agreement, pulling her hand away and turning to enter a room to the side. I abruptly stopped in my pace, and entered as well: the others must have gone in, but I haven't noticed in my distraction.

As I entered into the room after Tear, the first thing I had noticed are the many different kinds of weapons: all placed upon wooden shelves that are all placed into rows in the room. The longer weapons like bows and swords are all hanging from the wall, while the smaller weapons, such as maces, daggers and the such are kept upon the shelves.

"Whoa, these are a _lot _of swords," Luke breathed in awe, looking over at the weaponry hanging from the wall with Anise and Mieu behind him. I shuffled off far to the side to have a look around. That, and I wanted to be as far from Luke as I could. I'm seriously still mad at him.

I tuned their conversation out as I went behind the shelf that is located on the far side of the room: casually looking over one weapon after another as I slowly walked by each of them.

Obviously, there are several kinds of swords. The ones that you could hold in only one hand, while the others are broadswords, in which you could hold them with both your hands. There are also some staves and rods available, definitely for the magic casters of the Malkuth army. I then noticed that there are some shields kept in the corner of the room I was standing in, as well. And there are also some axes that are of decent sizes, and not like the gigantic one that Largo would usually carry around.

I stopped in my pace at that thought, frowning to myself as I absently stared at a pair of daggers.

Largo… that's right… I completely almost forgot…

The Six God Generals are going to attack the Tartarus soon, along with Arietta's monster friends. Oh God… people are going to get killed, and I don't even have a weapon to defend myself with. What the hell am I gonna do? I don't want to get killed! Oh shoot, oh shoot, what should I _do?_

I suddenly snapped my head up to look over to where the others are as I suddenly had a thought. My fingers twitched slightly, and I clenched my hands into fists. I felt my heart start to race a little.

_What if I took something from this room to use as my weapon?_

I bit my lip at that thought, looking from between the pair of daggers in front of me and back to where the others are: making sure I kept my gaze subtle.

…If I took something from this the room, the others would surely find out about it later. No doubt about that. I had also noticed that if there was one thing that all of the weapons in this room have in common, it's the sign of Malkuth on their handles to signify that they are the possessions of the Malkuth army. I highly doubt anyone would miss it when they saw me carrying a weapon from this room.

…But… what else can I do? I'm useless with just a weapon made out of wood to fight with. The Tartarus is going to be attacked soon… no one would scold me when that happens, right? They have bigger things to worry about when the time comes. And if they scold me… well, I'll worry about that when it happens.

People are going to die later on today… and all these weapons won't be put into proper use anymore, unless the Oracle Knights decided to use them, which I doubt. Not with the symbol of Malkuth on them.

Plus… what will become of the Tartarus later on? When the party gets the Albiore, the Tartarus won't be used any longer. They would use it to… suppress the vibration of the Planet Storm, right?

In other words… The Tartarus would be useless once we get the Albiore. And then it would be sent down to the Qliphoth, and it wouldn't be able to be used by anyone else any longer.

So… it won't be _that _big of a loss if I take only _one_ thing from this room… right? Right?

I would finally be able to help out the others in battles. They can't blame me too much if I'm finally being more useful than I was at Cheagle Woods, right? This whole thing… It's a life-or-death situation. Kill or be killed… it's not really the time to be worrying over a stolen weapon. Besides… that stolen weapon will be put into good use, after all. They're better off being used for something important than left here alone to rust away when everything's said and done with.

"Okay, lets go upstairs to see the scenery, everyone~!" Anise sang gaily, pumping a fist into the air and bringing her leg up cutely.

Here's my chance… now or never…

As Anise started to guide the others out, I gave the shelf in front of me a loud kick, before gritting my teeth and intentionally twisting my face into a 'pained' grimace, bending over as the others turned around to face my direction_. Please don't come over, please don't come over…_

"Oww…" I made a loud hiss as I kept myself bent over so that I could hide myself behind the shelf away from the others' line of sight. As I did, I grabbed one of the daggers and slipped it as deep into the pocket of my pants as far as I could.

"Ah, sorry! I slammed my toe, owow. Y-You guys go ahead, I'll be out with you in just a sec!" I called out, my heart racing as I grabbed the other dagger as well and slipped it deep into my other pocket.

Just in time, too. I straightened up and pulled my blouse further down to hide the bulge on either side of my pants when I heard the sound of heels clicking against the wooden floor coming towards my direction.

"Hmph. What a klutz," Luke scoffed from his place at the entrance. I just sighed when Tear reached my side.

"Does it hurt?" She asked, bending down to take a look at my sandal-clad feet. "Which toe was it?"

"Ah, don't worry… I massaged it to make it feel just a _little _better," I smiled nervously, tugging my blouse down further and feeling my heart hammer in my chest. Oh God, please don't notice anything weird…

"I'm sure they'll probably be a small bruise later on, though," I added just to keep my story sound true, rubbing a hand against my other arm as Tear stood up. "I'll be fine… no need to waste your healing spells for a small bump. Not like it hasn't happened to me before."

"Well, if you say so," Tear murmured, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Anyway, lets get going, shall we?" I smiled slightly, grabbing Tear's wrist and bringing her alongside me as we walked out. "As Anise said earlier, the day is not getting any younger!"

The others have already stepped out when they saw that there aren't any problems, so as soon as Tear and I left the room, Anise (while clinging to Luke's arm once more) guided us down the hallways towards the steel staircase at the very end of it.

After climbing upstairs and reaching the top, Anise then guided us towards a large set of double-doors. They automatically slid open when Anise and Luke were right in front of them, and we all walked out into the breezy air. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down. _Well, at least my plan was a success... thank goodness..._

We got a good clear view of the fields around us passing by as the Tartarus continued on its course towards its destination. The area we walked out to was like a wide balcony, I guess, at least that's what it looked like to me. The guardrails around the edges of this area were made out of gold, and are molded into fancy patterns underneath.

Ahead of us and watching the scenery with their backs to us, Jade and Ion were speaking about something. At the sound of our footsteps however, they both turned around to face us.

"Anise, are you taking Luke and the others on a tour of the Tartarus?" Ion asked casually, smiling easily when he saw us.

Anise placed two fingers of her hand against her forehead in a scout-girl like pose. "Of course~! They're very special guests of ours, so we have to take _goood _care of them~!"

"Well, well, Luke. A group of lovely ladies as your entourage?" Jade asked, smirking as he gazed at the red-head.

Raising my eyebrows, I rolled my eyes as Anise let out a happy squeal from beside us, and Tear blushed a bright red at the compliment.

"Ohh, Colonel…" Anise giggled appreciatively.

"You're a real tease, aren't you…?" I murmured, raising my head up to stare at the necromancer.

"Oh, no… not at all. I'm always serious."

Liar.

"I-I'm not… we're not…" Tear started to protest, but ended up stammering instead.

"Don't flatter yourself. He must mean Mieu instead of you," Luke snorted, giving Tear a cocky look.

"But… Master! I'm a boy!" Mieu protested cheerfully.

It took a full three seconds, but Luke then fell back onto his butt: his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

"_WHAAAT?_ YOU'RE a _boy?" _He shouted incredulously, looking quite freaked out. "You sure as hell don't _sound_ like one!"

"That's because Mieu hasn't hit puberty yet," I chuckled, shaking my head. "I bet when he grows up, Mieu's voice will be_ much_ deeper and more smooth to listen to than _yours_, Luke."

"Only in your dreams, Samantha!" Luke retorted, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Now, now, settle down," Jade advised, moving his hands in the 'calm down' gesture. When we all did just that, Jade turned his gaze back to Luke. "Now, what's this about a 'kidnapping', you mentioned earlier?"

Luke brought his hands up in a shrug. "How should I know?" He demanded, pointing an accusing finger towards Jade. "You people from Malkuth are the ones who kidnapped me!"

Jade closed his eyes, shaking his head. "…Well, I'm afraid I don't know anything about it. Did it happen during the previous Emperor's reign?"

Luke let out a huff at that. "Humph. Beats me. Thanks to _that_, I lost all my childhood memories."

Jade's eyes snapped back open at that, and he stared at Luke intently. His face was now set in a stony mask, and his expression was completely unreadable: I can't tell what his line of thinking is like right about now. But… I get the vague idea.

…It appears that Jade had realized that Luke is a replica… or at least starting to suspect him of being one. I don't really remember the exact details when it comes to his thoughts. Jade is the only one that knew from the very beginning from this point on, didn't he? About Luke…

"…What?" Luke finally asked, looking unnerved by Jade's hard stare.

"…I'm sure you have your grievances, but I do hope that we can obtain your cooperation," Jade said evenly, before walking past all of us to go back inside. I watched the automatic double doors shut behind Jade's back as he left, sighing a bit.

"What's that all about?" I heard Luke mutter underneath his breath.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in this," Ion apologized, placing a hand to his chest as Luke turned to face him with a scoff.

"No kidding. If you'd at least tell me what's going on…"

Ion let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm influencing the situation as well." He opened his eyes again. "That's why Jade is being so cautious, and why Samantha was arrested…"

I waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. Like I said earlier at Cheagle Woods, I've got all the time in the world. It's cool."

"How the hell can you be so damn calm despite your situation?" Luke asked incredulously.

I raised my eyebrows at them. "Do you_ want_ me to panic? Because I think I can let out a looong,_ really loud _scream if I took in a really deep breath--"

"No way, I don't want my ears to bleed!" That was Luke. That's one point earned…

"_No!" _That was Anise protesting. Two points…

"Please don't," Tear requested calmly. Number three…

_"Mieu?" _Mieu's confused… I'll leave that out, then…

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary," Ion quickly interrupted, smiling awkwardly. Annnd that's four points right there. Huh… "Thank you for understanding."

"Anyway, what was that earlier about you influencing the situation?" Luke asked, turning back to look at Ion. "Is it because the Order of Lorelei is acting as a go-between?"

"Yes, that's part of it," Ion nodded in confirmation. His eyes then became apologetic once more. "But… I'm afraid I can't tell you yet."

Luke closed his eyes at that, leaning his head back and groaning loudly at the sky above. "Ugh! This is such a pain!"

"Ion~!" Anise sang, moving back and forth on the heels of her boots, with her hands clasped behind her back. "We're going to the cafeteria next. Do you want to join us for lunch?"

"Lunch?" Luke asked, perking up immediately. "You bet! I'm starving! Other than a mediocre breakfast back at Engeve this morning, I haven't had eaten at all today! I want some _real_ food now!"

"I want some veggies! Lots and lots of veggies!" Mieu exclaimed, raising a paw up.

I smiled. "Well, it can't hurt. I'll eat as much as I can today, too." Because I don't know how long it will take to reach St. Binal after the Tartarus is attacked. I highly doubt it'll take a few minutes like I did in the game.

…In fact, I should stop thinking this whole thing as a game now. This whole entire experience… it's as real as it can be.

I crossed my arms, subtly giving my arm a hard pinch with my nails, before twisting it as well. Okay, ow… that hurt. This is no dream, either. I still couldn't believe it…

Tear nodded, and Ion accepted Anise's invitation. We all then started to make our way towards the automatic double doors, with Anise leading us.

"Ah, I almost forgot…" Ion suddenly stated, his eyes going a bit wide as if he just remembered something. We all turned to face him curiously as he turned around to face Luke.

I soon found myself having an open-mouthed smile when Ion reached forward to clasp both of Luke's hands in his own, startling the young Duke and making both Tear's and Anise's eyes widen with surprise. Mieu just smiled at the entire thing.

"H-Hey… wh-what's up with you all of a sudden?" Luke stammered, looking down at Ion with wide eyes.

"Thank you!" The Fon Master gave him a beaming smile.

"H-Huh?"

"For back at Cheagle Woods, when you spoke up for my sake with Jade," Ion reminded him, holding his hands up with a chuckle. "It really made me happy!"

I finally regained enough sense to cover my mouth with a hand to keep myself from squealing and laughing at the same time. I couldn't help it… they're just… they're just _so cute…!_ And from what I'm seeing right now, Tear seemed to agree. Her blush gave it all away.

Luke immediately tore his hands away, his face flushed entirely red.

"W-Whatever! He's just being too stingy with you! That's all! J-Just let it go, will you?"

His face still red, Luke then quickly moved away past the group to stand right in front of the giant automatic double doors, which immediately opened.

"Come on! I just want to eat already! A-And… Anise, stop laughing!"

"I'm so happy that Master has such a good friend," Mieu said with a happy smile.

"Argh! Stop teasing me already!"

As Luke disappeared down the stairways we used to come up earlier, Tear, Mieu and Anise immediately followed after him. Before Ion could follow, I stopped him: still smiling.

"Hehe… you're just a cute little thing, aren't you?" I teased lightly. "Embarrassing Luke like that… I think you're the only one at the moment who could pull that off without a hitch."

"Ah, do you believe he's really so embarrassed?" Ion asked, his eyes widening slightly. "Perhaps I should have thanked him in private then—huh?"

I had started laughing at that last part, unable to help myself. Oh God, Ion… he had _no _idea of how many _images_ he had just unintentionally planted into my mind, now how he and Luke just looked like together just now.

"Ahah… nothing, nothing…" I shook my head quickly. Reaching out, I ruffled his hair, even though I had to move my hand _up _since he's an inch taller than me despite our ages.

"Ah... sorry!" I immediately said when I realized just what I was doing to the _Fon Master _of the _Church of Lorelei_. I pulled my hand back, feeling totally embarrassed. "It… It was just… I don't know… I just…"

"Ah, no, it's alright," Ion chuckled lightly, reaching up to adjust his headband. He looked a bit surprised, but more amused than anything "I did not really minded that."

"Huh…" was all I could say at that moment. I looked away. "Anyway… we should… catch up with the others."

"Yes, of course."

Dammit, Ion… why the hell do you have to be so damn cute?

* * *

**Now that this chapter is over... time for a little mini omake extra! XD**

**In this chapter....**

_**-Samantha has received the "Justice Thief" title-**_

_A person who steals weapons for the good of the world, and to make better use of them. But is it really alright...? It's still stealing!_

**XDDD**

**I believe I'll add extra titles for Sam along the way as the story progresses, just for an after-chapter fun. But only at certain times and certain chapters, since I can't make one up for every single chapter. XDD**

**Reviews would make me a happy writer. :D**


	7. Attack on the Tartarus

**Attack on the Tartarus**

"Small, localized conflicts have broken out recently. It's likely those will soon escalate into full-scale war. After all, the truce for the Hod War is only 15 years old," Jade spoke, his hands clasped behind his back casually as he stood straight in front of the same table that Luke, Tear and I were seated at earlier.

After having had a decent lunch at the small cafeteria that Anise had leaded us to, she had declared that the tour was over, and that we could do whatever it is that we wish to then. After wandering aimlessly around the hallways for just a few minutes, Luke had already gotten bored and had started grumbling about something underneath his breath before leading us all back to the room (though he made Anise lead, as he forgotten where that specific room was) we had been taken to immediately upon our arrest.

There, in his full glory of the young son of a royal duke, he had ordered (very quite well, if I may add) one of the two soldiers there to "go fetch that annoying Colonel of yours for me, already". The soldier, who looked less than pleased with Luke's tone and attitude, swallowed down his annoyance however, and dutifully left the room to do just that, while his friend standing guard next to him just looked quite shocked with Luke's loud bluntness. Insert facepalms and sighs from both me and Tear respectively right there.

As Tear questioned Luke about his decision to help, and the young duke responded in his 'couldn't care less as long as I get home' kind of way, the door had opened, and the soldier that had left had entered into the room with Jade in tow before going back to his position by the door. Anise and Ion were already in the room since all of us were just… tailing obediently after Luke after Anise's tour was over: all with our own reasons. Me myself, I didn't have anywhere else to go, Tear wanted to make sure Luke doesn't get lost, Mieu is more than willing to, literally, follow the footsteps of his master, Anise had unofficially decided to be his loyal loving floozie, and Ion had the same reason as I did, I suppose.

And so, here we are now, with me trying not to look bored at the speech that I'm somewhat familiar with and trying look as concentrated as Tear instead. Luke, on the other hand… has absolutely no problems with showing his boredom clear on his face. Hell, even _Mieu_ looked just a bit more serious than him.

From his place standing next to Jade, Ion decided to speak next, frowning seriously when he did. I had recently noticed that Ion's voice tends to become a bit lower and deeper when he's absolutely serious, and not his usual innocent, naïve game voice that makes girls want to squeal and glomp him. Ah, but I suppose no one would take what he said seriously if he doesn't alter his tone to sound a bit more professional. A serious voice fitting to that of the Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei, and neutral ambassador.

"Emperor Peony has written a letter proposing a formal peace treaty." Ion raised a hand to place it over his heart. "They requested my aid as a neutral ambassador."

"If that's the case, then why do people think you've gone missing?" Luke demanded, throwing his arms out to the side. "Master Van went looking for you, you know!"

Ion's gaze went downwards for a moment, before looking back up at the duke. "That's due to the matters within the Order of Lorelei."

Jade stepped in next. "A conflict is unfolding between the reformist Fon Master faction, centered around Ion, and the conservative Grand Maestro faction, centered around Grand Maestro Mohs."

Ugh... Mohs… that sleazy, bug-eyed, mindless bastard with no free will of his own.

"Mohs is looking for a war," Ion informed gravely. "I managed to escape from Mohs' custody with the help of the Malkuth military."

I jolted a bit in surprise when Tear suddenly slammed both her hands down onto the table, scaring Mieu as well and send him scurrying into my lap. I silently gave him a comforting pat on the head as Tear stood up: looking both incredulous and unaccepting all at once.

"Fon Master Ion! There must be some mistake!" Tear protested loudly, her blue eyes wide in disbelief. "Grand Maestro Mohs would _never _desire such a thing! Mohs only prays for the fulfillment of the Score."

I had to refrain myself from snorting at the solid proof in that last statement. Yeah, Mohs would follow the Score at nothing since he's addicted to the Score as much a drug addict would to drugs.

Anise stepped forward from her place next to Ion, placing both of her arms on the table we were seated at and leaning forward and facing Tear with a wide-eyed look.

"Tear, you're with the Grand Maestro faction?" she whispered solemnly. "No way…"

"I'm neutral," Tear assured after turning her head to face the younger girl. "Yulia's Score is important, but so are the Fon Master's wishes."

"Hey, guys! Hello?" Luke interrupted angrily, placing both his fists on the table in front of him. "You want to slow down so I can follow?"

"Long story short," I started to say, looking over to Luke and deciding to make things sound more simpler for the poor guy. I remember being confused as hell the first time I played the game as well. "From what I can tell, if it was true, and Mohs is looking for war. _If!" _I repeated the word more sternly when Tear looked about ready to protest once more.

"_If _Mohs was really looking for a war, then he would try to keep Ion, the person who's looking for _peace _under lock and key so the war that was written in Yulia's Score could be fulfilled. Because his faction is all about following the Score, while Ion's faction doesn't the follow the Sore as much as they do."

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to know all of that, so I looked over to Ion, pretending to look uncertain. "The war _is _written in the Score, right? 'Cause Tear just mentioned about how Yulia's Score is important, and Mohs just wanted to follow everything written in it, right…?"

Ion nodded in confirmation. "You basically got everything explained in the more simpler terms."

Luke was looking over at me as if he's trying to absorb everything I just said. Well, at least he looks less irritated and lost now. "Huh? Is that so…? So Mohs is the real problem, huh?"

Tear quickly shook her head. "However, Mohs is not looking for a war. He is not."

"Then why would he try to lock Ion up, huh?" Luke challenged, crossing his arms expectantly.

"Please…" Ion cut in softly yet sternly so that the argument will not continue any further. "Regardless of the state of affairs within the Order, I must deliver this letter to Kimlasca."

Jade shook his head, stepping into the conversation once more. "But we're the soldiers of an enemy nation. Even as emissaries of peace, it won't be easy for us to cross the border. If we delay, the Grand Maestro faction will catch up with us and interfere."

Jade turned to face Luke. "That is why we need your help." He suddenly smiled. "No, well, really we just need your social status."

"Oh, I'm hurt, gramps. Is that all I'm good for?" Luke asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He suddenly looked as if he had a brilliant thought, and looked back at Jade with a sneering smile.

"Hey… I really don't like the tone of voice you're using with me. Didn't anyone ever teach you that you should bow your head in respect when asking someone for a favor?"

"Luke, don't act like that!" Tear admonished.

"Shut up already!" he huffed, closing his eyes. "I won't be satisfied with helping either way. Well?"

"Luke…" I sighed. Mieu stood higher from where he was standing in my lap to get a good look at what's going on with a small "mieu?" sound.

There was an awkward silence in the entire room for a good few moments with no one saying a word. When he realized that Luke was dead serious, Jade inhaled quietly through his nose before letting out a sigh.

"My, my…" he murmured underneath his breath as he walked over to the side of the table where Luke was sitting at.

"_Commander!_"

And to both of the guards' horror, Jade knelt down lowly to one knee, with his right arm placed across his chest and resting on the left side of his chest where his heart should be: his head bowed in a respectful way.

Anise was gaping in her place, both of Ion's and Tear's eyes were widened while I bit my lip at the sight. Luke merely had his eyebrows raised, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

After a moment, Jade finally spoke. "Master Luke, please grant us your aid."

"Man…" Luke crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back in his chair as he stared at where Jade was kneeling on the floor. "Do you have _any_ pride?"

Jade stood up straight once more, pushing his glasses up his nose. The ceiling lights got reflected against the shades, making them light up and hide Jade's eyes from view.

"None so cheap as to be shaken by something as petty as this, sir," Jade replied with a smile, crossing his arms.

"…Tch," Luke closed his eyes. "Fine, whatever. You just need me to talk to my uncle, right?"

"You have my deepest gratitude," Jade nodded once, still smiling. With the lights still reflecting against the shades of his glasses, it looked rather creepy. "Now, by your leave, Master Luke, I must attend to other matters."

"Stop calling me 'Master'," Luke shuddered, opening his eyes once more and glaring at the brown-haired man. "Coming from you, it's just… _wrong._"

"As you wish…" Jade said ever so slowly, his tone as smooth as silk. "…_Master _Luke…"

I clamped a hand over my mouth at that, unable to keep my sniggering down. Oh Dear Lord, the imaaages…!

Luke snapped his head over to give me an unamused look, and I waved my hand at him rapidly.

"Sorry, sorry…! Keh he…" I pursed my lips tightly, hoping that I would stop laughing soon.

"Great, now look what you did, old man…" Luke groaned, looking over to where Jade was standing. Or rather… _was _standing at one point. One look at the now wide-open door, and Luke groaned once more, already knowing that the necromancer is no longer present in the room with us. The guards over by the door were snickering to themselves as well. Anise had a large knowing grin on her face, while poor Ion just looked befuddled.

Ion finally sighed to break the silence in the room as Tear, Luke and I stood up: with me still holding onto Mieu. "Complicated discussions sure are tiring…" he murmured.

"If you were on an important mission like this, why the heck did you get involved in the mess at Engeve?" Luke questioned once he reached the green-haired boy's side.

Ion looked over to me when I came to stand by Luke's side, before reaching out to stroke Mieu's furry blue head, much to the cheagle's content. He closed his eyes with a happy smile and a small "mieuu" sound: his puffy ears drooping low as to give Ion more room to stroke his head. Aww, how cute. And from the look on Tear's and Anise's face, they do too.

"Cheagles are considered sacred to the Order," Ion murmured, continuing on with his activity. "And the letter I was supposed to receive in Engeve was late anyway, so…"

Luke raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure like sticking your neck out for people."

"He's the total opposite of you," Tear remarked, closing her eyes.

"_Do you have to be a jerk about everything?"_ Luke shouted angrily, glaring at her.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Please don't fight…" Ion pleaded, pulling his hand away from Mieu's head, whose ears immediately went back up when he did so. "Anyway, Samantha, I'm sorry for dragging you along like this… it must be really troublesome for you…"

I smiled easily, shaking my head. "It's fine, I get it. Like I said earlier, I've got all the time in the world, so don't worry about me."

"It doesn't really bother you?" Ion asked, looking at me worriedly.

"No. Heh," I tilted my head to the side slightly. "Besides, you saved me back in Cheagle Woods from those wolves, Ion. How can I be mad at you about something as big as this? I'm replaying the favor, now."

"Oh, but you were the one who helped _me_," Ion protested. Oh, such modesty, this kid… it's lovable, really.

"No, don't be shy to admit it. I saw it, I acknowledge it. All I did was pull you away. I didn't stop the wolves," I said. "You're the real hero."

"But you-"

Ion's sentence was cut off when the alarms overheard started blaring loudly, and all of our eyes widened. I felt my heart tighten as the two soldiers standing guard by the door rush out at top speed. Unconsciously, I held Mieu tighter to my chest as I felt my hands start to shake.

It's starting. Oh God… the attack is finally starting. People are going to die, oh God… I don't want to die…

"_Wh-What's going on?"_ Luke yelled over the loud sounds of the alarms, running out of the room. Tear and Anise immediately followed.

"_Samantha?" _Ion cried out so he could be heard over all the noise. He gave my arm a tug. "_We need to go!"_

I bit my lip, only giving him a nod to show that I heard him: not trusting my voice to be any louder than a murmur now.

_"We need to catch up with Master!" _Mieu shouted from his place in my arms.

_"I-I get it!" _I shouted over the noise. I quickly went to the part of the room where Luke's wooden sword was resting at (I had kept it there since I don't feel like carrying it throughout Anise's entire tour) before rushing out of the room with Ion in tow: feeling my heart race the entire time.

Seeing the others further down the hallway, we rushed over to where they all were. Jade was speaking into a wall-mic when we reached them.

"What's happening?" Ion asked when the alarms had died down.

"Fon Master, we're being attacked by monsters!" Anise exclaimed, edging close to Luke's side.

"Huh? It's just some monsters, right?" Luke asked dubiously.

"Griffins don't normally work in groups. It's dangerous when monsters act unusually," Tear stated, her entire posture tense and ready for any kind of action when it calls for it.

I let out a startled yelp when the Tartarus shook violently: stumbling over to the wall along with Anise and Ion. I let out an "Oof!" sound when I hit the cold metal wall, feeling pain booming in my left elbow from where it struck against the wall. Okay, ouch...

"What's wrong?" Jade demanded into the mic when the tremor stopped. I winced as I stepped away from the wall.

_"Ligers are dropping from the griffins! They're clinging to the hull and attacking!"_ a voice responded from the mic. In the background, we all could hear the sound of people shouting, metal swords clanging, and the growls of monsters. "Engineering is-"

I blanched as I felt my breath quickening when the sound of the man's voice was cut off by his own scream. Oh, but that is not all… I heard the growl of a monster, and I also heard something that sounded sickeningly like flesh being _ripped _apart, and the sound of something _wet _splattering to the floor before everything was blocked by the sound of loud static.

"Bridge! Respond! Bridge!" Jade called into the mic urgently, his brows furrowed and frowning deeply.

"Wh-What…?" I breathed shakily, feeling my entire body becoming cold and numb now. Oh God… I think I'm going to be sick. Those sounds… Oh God, those _sounds _I heard just now…!

"Ligers are those monsters at the cheagles' place, right?" Luke asked quickly, looking quite pale himself. Obviously, like me, he never had been in these kind of things, much less _heard_ those sick sounds just now…

"Yes…" Mieu squeaked gravely from his place on the floor. Wait… on the _floor? _When did I let go of him? Did I drop Mieu when I was slammed into the wall… or did I unconsciously drop him when I heard those sounds from the mic? I don't even remember! Horrific images at what could have happened already kept running through my head, and I couldn't get my thoughts together at all!

This place… it's dangerous. It's not safe anymore. My insides are screaming for me to run. Just run somewhere, _anywhere_, from this place. But where could I _run? _It's dangerous now, but it's even more dangerous if I go alone! I don't wanna be alone, I don't wanna risk getting lost in this big ship, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna get killed! Oh God… I could suddenly feel my lunch crawling up my throat…

I swallowed the bile down as best I could just as Luke spoke again.

"You're kidding! There's a whole horde of _those things_ here?" Luke exclaimed in horror, his eyes wide. His body was shaking slightly as well. "We're _dead_ if we stay on this ship! Let me off of this thing!"

I suddenly felt as if a giant wall made out of brick was rammed straight into me, and my eyes widened when I realized what was going to happen now.

"No, no, _NO_, Luke! No, wait, _don't go-LUKE!"_ I screamed when he just ignored my warnings and took off running down the hallways.

"Luke!" Ion shouted after him as Tear immediately gave chase and yelled after him.

"_Stop! _It's dangerous to go outside now!"

The rest of us followed as well. We could see Luke about to run up to a closed door at the end of the hallway.

I immediately skidded to a stop with everyone else when that door suddenly was thrown outwards and sent flying towards Luke as if an elephant had violently kicked it. The flying metal door struck Luke head on, and he fell to the ground in a heap: the door falling with a loud clatter off to the side.

"Luke!" Anise shouted, and I felt Jade stiffen beside me when three figures came through the door. Both of them were Oracle knights, clad in white armor and gold platings: the golden symbol of the Order of Lorelei displayed on the pale-grey tunic above their armor. Their lances were held out at the ready, and they look like they wouldn't hesitate to use them.

The third man standing at the centre looked a lot more different compared to the two of them. And… holy… fricken'… COW! He's _tall!_ He towered over everyone currently present easily, including Jade. Standing at six foot nine, he has a bulky, muscular physique. His height and stature just screams that this man alone is a total powerhouse, and not a person to be underestimated in battle even when alone.

He was wearing the main uniform belonging to that of a God-General: a black garb with dark-red markings. He seemed to be wearing a black-sleeved shirt along with black slightly baggy pants underneath his uniform. Large spikes that seemed to be made out of granite ran along the collar of his uniform, and I could see something gold sparkle at the center of his neck in the hallway lights. Along with back metal boots and dark reddish-brown gloves, the man was carrying a tall scythe in his right hand. His scythe was a good foot taller than him, and its' sharp, curved blade glinted wickedly in the light.

The gigantic man has rough facial features, which were framed completely with thick dark-grey hair. The hair at the top of his head were swept up to look like spikes, and the large beard underneath his entire chin looked to be left alone. His cold, dark-grey eyes observed our entire party carefully, before they rested on Jade.

Largo the Black Lion… one of the six God-Generals of the Order of Lorelei. And probably the strongest out of all of them physically. Oh, this not good… _not _good at all. And we're going to have to fight him at one point? I'm _so _not looking forward to that…

"Master!" Mieu cried out in alarm from somewhere behind me as I watched Luke wobble back up to his feet.

I looked over to Jade when I noticed something glowing from his direction. A pure white rune circle had formed underneath him as he charged up a fonic arte.

"Luke! Move!" I called out in warning, grabbing both Anise and Ion by their shoulders and pulling them off far to the side against the wall to avoid them getting caught in the crossfire in any way. At my warning, Luke threw himself to the side and pressed himself against the wall.

"Photon!"

As soon as Luke was out of the way, Jade released the fonic arte he was charging up. A white rune circle was formed between his hands as well before a massive shot of light energy was sent flying towards our assailants.

The two unfortunate Oracle Soldiers were struck dead-on and were obliterated right on the spot: not even having enough time to scream before they vanished completely in bright bursts of light. Largo, however, had deflected the beam of light sent towards him with the blade of his scythe, and tactfully sent it right back towards our direction. Jade and Tear moved out of the way just in time, and the light energy flew past all of us harmlessly.

_CLANK!_

That was the sound of Largo's scythe being embedded in the wall right next to Luke's neck. The curved blade held above Luke's neck kept him from moving less he wanted to get his throat sliced off. The young red-haired duke was shaking, keeping his entire body pressed against the wall the best he could away from the blade of Largo's scythe being so close to his flesh: his teeth gritted in a fearful manner.

"Luke!" I cried uselessly, feeling fear take over my system. He'll be safe, right? He's not supposed to be killed here! But… this isn't a game anymore. Who knows what could happen? Dammit!

"…Impressive," Largo remarked nonchalantly in a gruff voice. "But it's time for you to calm down. _Now._ Colonel Jade Curtiss, Commander of the Third Division of the Malkuth Imperial Forces… Or maybe just 'Jade the Necromancer'".

Tear's eyes widened in disbelief at that, looking over to Jade as he slowly made his way to the very front of our group.

"Jade the Necromancer…! _You?_" She whispered in near horror.

"Well, well. It seems I'm famous," Jade commented casually, smiling coldly.

"Rumors have spread far and wide: how you scavenge corpses after every battle," Largo said, keeping a firm grip of his scythe to make sure that Luke doesn't try to slip away. Though I think the poor boy's too petrified with fear to do anything at the moment.

Jade still kept his calm smile. "Oh, but my stories have nothing on yours, sir. 'Largo the Black Lion'. One of the Six God-Generals of the Oracle Knights."

Largo chuckled mirthlessly. "Heh… I'm been waiting for a chance to cross blades with you, but unfortunately, right now I must retrieve Fon Master Ion."

At that, he looked over to where the green-haired boy was. Since he was standing next to Anise and I however, his eyes need to pass by mines'. I refrained from shuddering when we briefly made eye-contact as I tried to block Ion from his view by holding an arm out and pushing Ion behind me. I doubt I could do anything, but I don't want anything to happen to Ion either. This is the least I could do at the moment.

"Now, hand him over," Largo ordered.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Jade said calmly. I could see Tear and Anise about to pull their respective weapons out. Largo immediately saw this as well.

"Hey! Don't move, unless you want this boy's head to roll!" Largo threatened, adjusting his scythe so that the blade would be held even closer to Luke's neck in warning.

Tear grunted underneath her breath, but relented and kept her hand down. Anise did the same: her lips pursed tightly in distress.

Largo focused his attention to Jade once more, his free hand moving behind his back as if reaching for something.

"Jade the Necromancer… letting you go now will only mean trouble later."

"Do you think you can kill me by yourself?" Jade asked slowly, his eyes narrowed as his smile finally fell from his face.

At that question, Largo pulled his free hand away from his back: now clutching a small, box-shaped object with something that looked like three small white marbles on each side. Wordlessly, he threw it into the air above Jade's head, and there, it stayed afloat.

Before Jade could even glance up to see what it was, the white marble things on it glowed brightly, before sending a spiral of blue light to rain down upon the Necromancer.

For the first time since I met him back at Cheagle Woods, Jade grunted in pain before falling down to his knees on the floor.

"…If I seal your fonic artes," Largo smirked triumphantly in response to Jade's earlier question. He finally pulled his scythe away from the wall, and Luke slid down to the floor limply: his eyes wide.

"A fon slot seal?" Tear exclaimed in alarm.

"I brought that here to seal the Fon Master's fonic artes. I didn't expect to wind up using it like this," Largo said, shifting his scythe into an offensive stance.

"Jade, look out!" I screamed as Largo charged towards the necromancer.

Thankfully, Jade was expecting something like that and had quickly summoned his lance out of thin air, running forward to face the behemoth of a man and dodging a blow from Largo's scythe.

I blinked, shaking my head to myself before looking up at the ceiling to see a fonstone there. Oh well, might as well help out a bit instead of just standing around uselessly and looking stupid.

"Mieu! Send a breath of fire at that fonstone on the ceiling! _Now!" _I ordered qickly.

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Mieu yelled, bouncing forward, jumping up after taking in a deep breath and blowing out a jet of fire towards the fonstone at the ceiling.

As soon as the fire made contact with the fonstone, the light it radiated grew even much more brighter and intense, and Largo threw a hand up to cover his eyes.

"Ugh! It heated the fonstone to make it brighter?" Largo muttered in disbelief as he slowly tried to get his bearings back. He must have stared straight into the light, and that small moment was enough to make him see bright splotches in his vision, I believe.

"That's what you get for bullying Master!" Mieu shouted angrily.

Jade nodded in approval at what I just did, before looking over to Anise and throwing his free arm out to the side. "Now! Anise! Get Ion away from here!"

"Got it!"

Grabbing Ion's wrist, Anise then started to run past Largo and down the halls with Ion right behind her.

"I trust you know where to meet!"

"Don't worry!"

That was the last exchange shared between Jade and Anise before the Fon Master Guardian and her charge disappeared out of sight after turning past a corner.

At that moment, Largo finally regained back his sight, and was glaring at the direction where Anise and Ion had just ran off to.

"Oh, no you don't!" Largo shouted angrily. He seemed to be about to take off after the two youngsters, but a swirl of purple light surrounded him, making him fall to his knees. Ah, Tear had just used Nightmare.

Taking advantage of this, Jade rushed towards the large man, before plunging his lance right into the center of Largo's lower chest area. My eyes widened when I saw the tip of Jade's lance shot out the other side of Largo's body: now coated with thick blood and sending the red liquid spraying everywhere.

Blood immediately pooled on the floor and formed a puddle when Largo's entire body collapsed limply onto it face-first, and I had to swallow the bile that I could feel rising up my throat once more.

I mindlessly made my way over to Luke's side, whose face had gone completely pale as he stared at Largo's fallen, motionless form. I sat down right in front of him so I could block his view of Largo's body, just so he did not have to see the gruesome sight any longer than he has to. Despite this, Luke continued to shake al over, his breathing ragged and quick. I distinctly heard Tear and Jade talking in soft tones behind me, but I'm more worried about Luke.

Largo's not dead. I knew that. However, Luke and the others didn't. So, with that said, I'm sure that this is the very first time that Luke had seen someone get 'killed' right before his very eyes, and his mind must have been sent into a state of shock right about now.

"Luke…" I said softly, feeling my throat feel rather dry. "Luke… come on."

"He… h-he… stabbed…" Luke murmured shakily, though it seemed that it's more to himself than to me. He doesn't look like he's looking at me, either. No, rather… he's looking _through _me.

Noticing that his shaking has increased, I placed my wooden sword down onto the floor just as Mieu bounded up to us silently. I placed my hands on Luke's shoulders and gave him a small but firm shake.

"Luke, Luke… come on. Look at me," I said firmly, reaching up with one hand and slapping him on the cheek softly a few times. "Luke, come on. Snap out of it. This… now's not the time. Look at me, _come on!"_

Luke inhaled a long, shaky breath, before his green eyes finally looked up and connected with my brown ones. I frowned, tightening my grip on his shoulder.

"Luke, listen to me. I… I know you're scared, but… the Tartarus… it's dangerous now. We need to keep moving if we want to survive through all this. So, please… for now, keep your head clear, and… you, you have to stay focused Luke. You don't want to die here, do you?"

"O-Of course not…" he muttered quietly, still shaking. At least it lessened somewhat now. "But… would we have to… kill more people…? That guy…"

"It can't be helped," I said, sighing. "I don't like it either, but it's necessary, Luke. Even for our own sakes. Come on, we have to go."

"But…" Luke shook his head, seeming to pull himself back together now. "We don't have to kill him…"

"So our enemies are free to kill us, but we should spare their lives?" Jade's voice came from somewhere above me. I could feel him standing behind me.

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow that logic," Jade continued, not sounding amused at all.

"Luke, this isn't a simple training exercise. We can't afford to worry about the lives of our enemies," Tear spoke sternly.

"I'm sure they're prepared to give their lives for their mission. That's the duty of a soldier, after all… To give your life for a greater cause," Jade said seriously. He then sighed and closed his eyes with a shrug. "Though it seems those of a certain House of Kimlasca do not share the same dedication."

Luke immediately stood up, and I pushed myself back and do the same as well as Luke shouted, "That's _not_ what I'm saying! _Dammit!"_

Jade turned his back to us, starting to make his way towards the door that would lead us upstairs and out to the deck. "Regardless, for now, we need to secure the bridge. With our combined efforts, we _should_ be able to do that despite a few liabilities."

I bit my lips, tightening my grip on the wooden sword I held. Somehow… I have the feeling that he's talking about me and not just Luke. I'm not sure but... ugh… it just feels like something Jade would say… dammit.

Deciding to keep my mouth shut, I started to follow the others towards the staircase. But before I did, I looked back to Largo's fallen form once more and shuddered at the large amount of blood pooled below him. No… he should definitely be still alive despite all that…

I quickly turned and hurried out so that I could join the others when I could have _sworn _that I saw a finger twitch.

* * *

"Ohh…" I breathed, clapping a hand over my mouth when I could feel my bile rising up for the third time today. "…Shit…"

From his place next to me, Luke had gone extremely pale, and his mouth was gaping open slightly. Tear grimaced slightly, but otherwise kept a stoic face. Jade was the same, but his face was set into a stony neutral expression.

The game was too kind. Too kind indeed. That was my main thought after the four of us had walked out and climbed up the ladder that lead to the main deck. When the Tartarus was attacked in the game and when the player was wandering around, the place was practically empty save for the few monsters roaming about.

It did not show the corpses of Malkuth soldiers all laying about, lying in a pool of their own blood. It did not show how they were missing some of their limbs, as if they were ripped out. It did not show how their torso, despite their armor, had a bloody gaping hole in them, as if a dangerous animal had literally taken a chewing out of it: leaving the soldier's bloody entrails out in the open as a result. And that… _that _was only if there is a body left _whole _at all. The more unlucky corpses would look nothing more than a lump of bloody flesh, thanks to the more greedy ligers.

I find it truly a blessing that I managed to swallow my own vomit down instead of puking all over the floor by now. The idea was tempting, though. The feeling was made worse to the slight coppery stench in the air. I could only thank the fact that we're out in open air instead of indoors, or else the scent of death and blood would be even worse.

Jade turned his head towards Luke, raising a sarcastic eyebrow as if to say 'So, we should just let our enemies do all this if we don't plan to kill them ourselves?'

Luke, however, did not even notice it. His eyes were glued in on the corpses laid out about the deck, unblinking. I inhaled sharply, keeping my head bowed as I gently grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling him along when Tear and Jade started to move towards the only ladder that would lead up to the bridge.

"Don't look at them, Luke. We have to keep going," I mumbled quietly, pulling him to my side as we followed behind the two soldiers of our party. I could feel him shaking slightly. I don't blame him, though. I'm feeling somewhat shaky myself.

"They did… why would they let loose those ligers on them…?" he asked. I could hear him swallow audibly. "If they want to take over the Tartarus that much… just… just locking them up is enough, isn't it? There's no need to…"

Luke trailed off, and I shook my head: being reminded of one crucial thing about this boy standing next to me.

…He's just a kid. Sure… he may have the body of a seventeen year old, but… chronologically, he's really truly just a child: merely seven years of age. He has the heart of one, and, like most children, would see the world so simply. And considering that Luke has been sheltered up his whole entire life… he… he didn't need to see this.

He and I may have the same things in common, regarding our mundane but otherwise peaceful lifestyles. However, I had at least heard about deaths on the radio, seen accidents happen on television, and then some. Plus, I believe I'm old enough to understand some of the more complicated things in life.

Had Luke ever heard of a human being dying somewhere outside his home before? No… he probably hasn't, or otherwise he wouldn't have not cared at the possibility of Engeve being raided by young ligers if we didn't kill the liger queen.

So I suppose it's only expected that his heart and resolve has probably weakened somewhat now, what with all the deaths literally being displayed right in front of his face.

"They can't take any risks," I said softly. "If they don't kill us, they knew that we would push back and kill them ourselves. They're looking out for their own lives as much as we are looking after ours."

I bit my lip. "It's either them or us, Luke. It's impossible for both sides to stay alive without any fatalities."

"But that isn't fair!" Luke protested loudly, yanking his hand away from my grasp. "They could even just talk it over-"

"It's not that simple Luke," I cut in with only just enough force to make him stop talking. "Life's not fair. So we all just have to deal with it. Luke… if you, if you hesitate… _you'll _be the one who'll end up dead. Just like all those soldiers over there."

"Dammit!" Luke growled, kicking the ground as we continued walking. "If I had to do what Jade just did to that guy… I can't… it's just…"

"I know."

"…Aren't you scared at all?" Luke asked me, almost accusingly. "You said you never fought: that you only just run. So… aren't you?"

I paused for only a moment: deciding whether to lie and try to force him to feel more confident or not. I decided not to, instead opting for the truth.

"Fucking. Terrified," I answered, narrowing my eyes as I stared straight ahead, and clenching my fist around the wooden sword in my right hand.

"See? You don't want to fight either. So why-"

"Because I _know_ there's_ no other way_, Luke," I spoke, feeling my emotions almost boiling over as my lips twisted into a grimace. "I _know _they wouldn't _bother _listening to what their _enemies_ has to say. I _know _that they wouldn't give a _flying rat's ass _if _we _died or not, and wouldn't even _blink _when cleaving our heads open into two with their own swords."

I could feel my tears gathering in my eyes now, and I desperately tried to keep my voice as firm as I could. No… I won't cry. I can't cry. Not now.

I inhaled through my nose sharply. "You think I don't want things to be simple either? Don't get me wrong, I wanted to just talk things out without fighting either, but I know that's practically impossible. It'll never happen, and I can't hope for that. I know that much."

I ran my free hand up and down my right arm quickly, trying to calm my inner turmoil down.

"I don't want to have to kill people, and I don't want to take their lives… but I don't want to die even much more so, either," I said in a shaky voice, so I took in a deep breath to steady it.

"And even… and even though I'll hate it, even though I may regret it, even though I might feel guilty afterwards… then… then so be it. If taking someone else's life means me living to see the next day, then I'll do it. I'll kill. Do I sound cold to you? Maybe, I'll even admit it myself… but you'll have to excuse me for being human."

"You…" Luke started to say, but then stopped. Then his eyes narrowed in what seemed like frustration, grunted angrily and stormed ahead a bit further away from me. Mieu, who had been quiet and listening to us the entire time, obediently followed after him after giving me a worried and sorrowful look. I placed a hand over my eyes for a moment to wipe away the moisture I could feel gathering, before pulling it away and flinging wet droplets to the ground below me.

What I had just said… I wonder if I'm saying that more to myself than to Luke…?

My heart had gone from hammering furiously inside my chest to feeling painfully constricted the moment I had seen the dead bodies of those poor Malkuth soldiers.

If push comes to shove… could I really do it? Can I really take the life of a human being with my own two hands, which, at of this moment, are currently shaking and covered in cold sweat?

Oh God… why must you be so cruel…?

* * *

**Well, I believe that's a good place to end the chapter at, so there we go! XD Until next time, my dear readers!**

**See that button below? It's the magical button that will make your wish for a new FITA chapter come true a bit more faster, so don't forget~! ;D They will help Sammy-girl pull through.**

**Ciao, ciao~!**


	8. Stained Escape

**Been on vacation during the entire month of July. Enough said. ^^;**

**Total word count in this chapter: 12,541 words. OH MY GOOOOOD! O_O**

**Long chapter is LONG! But at least that makes up for my month absence, right? :D Heh, this is my longest chapter yet.**

**Anyway, I'll just let the chapter get underway now.**

* * *

**Stained Escape**

"We arrived at a good time. It seems that they haven't returned yet," Jade noted, standing against the wall on one side of the exit of the port hatch. Tear was kneeling down on the floor behind him, her staff out and ready to be used as soon as the door was opened from the outside.

I was leaning against the wall with my arms crossed on the opposite side of where Jade and Tear were: concentrating on my breathing to slow down my rapid heartbeat. However, compared to me…

"Luke… how are you holding up?" I asked quietly, turning my head to the right to face Luke, who was also leaning against the wall like me. He was holding onto Mieu's head with one hand, and the cheagle looked more than ready to spit out a burst of flames at a moment's notice.

"I'm fine," he stated plainly, glaring at the metal floor.

"We might have to kill someone, so… are you sure you can take it…?"

"Ask yourself that damn question, idiot. You haven't killed anyone yet, so are you ready to do the same thing that I did earlier?" he hissed quietly. "I'm telling you now, it's going to be a damn horrible feeling."

"I trust your opinion about that…" I murmured, biting my lip. "…I think… I can do it."

"Hey, killing a griffin isn't the same as killing another living human being, you know," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "I've already fought both by now ever since I got blown away from my manor, and they're not the same at all. Monsters are just brainless animals that we can have for dinner if we want to. A soldier, on the other hand…" He suddenly stopped, closing his eyes with a pained grimace. "...look, it's not easy, alright?"

I did not say anything to that, instead looking down at my feet.

"…I guess… I'm a little nervous…" I admitted quietly. "But I'll try not to slow you guys down. The feeling in the air around us now… it's not really… comforting."

"Yeah, and the scent of blood isn't helping either. You reek of it."

"Hey... I turned my back on that griffin for you, you know," I protested.

Luke, however, just scoffed at that. "Not like _that_ helped with anything, so thanks for nothing."

"…Sorry."

He gritted his teeth. "That's your fault too, you know. If you hadn't left me alone to fight that bag of feathers, then I wouldn't have…! That guy would still be…!"

I could point out the flaws in the scenario that Luke had wanted. I could point out that if that guy hadn't been killed, then he would have killed _him_ first. I could point out the fact that if he hadn't done that, then he _still _wouldn't have even the faintest idea of what's to come in the future, and that there would _definitely_ be more humans for him to draw his blade against.

And yet… When I look at the strained and slightly pained expression on Luke's face, and thinking about how he's really doing his best to keep it together, maybe even more so than me… I only felt guilt, and I'm not even that sure of myself anymore.

When it was my turn to kill… would I feel the same thing that he's feeling right now? I could only hope and pray to any divine being up there that I won't take it even worse than he does. I don't want to kill, but I really don't want the others to look down at me, or see me as a crybaby as well… even though I'll admit that I _can _be one at times. I hate being so super sensitive and weak-hearted…

Not only that… but it's obvious that he's blaming me for not being able to help him with that soldier earlier. Maybe I should have stayed with him. Even though I might have been the one to kill first, I don't want Luke to hate me over something like this. Because, right now, looking at it from a certain perspective… it _is_ kind of my fault that Luke was forced to have his first kill, isn't it…?"

And so, with those things in mind, I can only say one thing to Luke right now, despite my earlier thoughts.

"I'm sorry…"

* * *

_Back then..._

* * *

_"Tue rei zue kroa ryou tue zue…"_

As the soldier guarding the doors to the bridge fell to ground, fast asleep, we all made our way towards him. Tear dropped the arm that was holding onto her staff back down to her side after she was done singing her fonic hymn.

"This is not really a good idea, Luke…" I frowned. It was his idea to tell Tear to just put the soldier to sleep over the idea of Jade killing him.

"It's better than unnecessary killing," Luke retorted before looking down at the sleeping figure of the Oracle Knight. "Wow… he's out like a light."

I shook my head. He didn't even thank her for sparing this guy's life. I'm still on the fence as to whether I should feel worried, or feel relieved that we're sparing an enemy's life. I'm not too sure of myself yet, either…

"Tear, you're amazing!" Mieu declared, his round, grey eyes filled with awe.

Tear gave the cheagle a nod in response as Jade opened the automatic doors by stepping up to them.

"Let's take back the Tartarus. Tear, if you'd assist me."

Tear gave another nod, this time to Jade's request. "Right."

"Hey, what do I do?" Luke asked quickly, just as Jade entered through the doors and out of out sight.

Tear turned her head over her shoulder to face Luke. "You stand watch here. Samantha, make sure he doesn't do anything careless."

"Hey!" Luke shouted to Tear's back as she walked through the automatic doors herself before they closed shut behind her. "Hmph! I think she's just telling us to stay out of their way…"

"Nah…" I shook my head. "They just don't want anyone going through those doors and attacking them from behind."

"What?" Luke set his lips into a grimace. "That's just fighting dirty."

"When it comes to fighting for your life, Luke, there aren't any rules," I murmured, looking back the way we came in apprehension when I heard a high-pitched shriek coming from the sky. Looking up, I saw a griffin flying around in the sky above our heads. It was staring down at us hungrily, and looked more than ready to swoop down and attack at any moment.

"Hey… that bird…"

"Hm…" I stared up at the sky. "…Let me handle this."

"Are you serious?" Luke asked incredulously.

I forced a smirk on to my face so that I could hide my unease. "Yeah, I'm serious. Just jump in when I'm in serious trouble, alright? This is a good chance to learn how to look after myself in battle, and get some battle experience under my belt, even if it's just a little."

"Tch… fine, whatever. Just don't get yourself ripped apart before I could step in, though. I don't need to give Tear more reasons to chew me out again," he said from behind me.

"Samantha! I'm rooting for you!" Mieu encouraged me.

"Yeah, thanks." I said, placing my wooden sword down on the ground before pulling out both my newly-claimed daggers from my pockets. "I would need that."

"Wait," Luke interrupted me, sounding surprised. "Those daggers… oh man, don't tell me…"

"I believe that I'll be needing more effective weapons than a weapon made out of wood, so I had decided that I'll be borrowing these for a while", I responded somewhat sheepishly, turning my head around to face him with a tiny smile. "Like I just said, Luke… when you're fighting for your life, there's no time to be worrying about the smaller things."

Luke shook his head, smirking to himself. "Man… I can't wait to see the look on Jade's face when he found out about this… he'll be so mad." He snorted. "Heh, but he so deserved it."

"Mm, knowing him, I think he'll just find a way to put me into debt or something," I ruminated, tightening my grip on both my daggers. "Besides, I need to quickly learn how to fight with these, so I guess now's a good time as any. Anyway, you can just… sit, relax and just watch, or something. I'm going!"

With that, I ran forward, keeping my gaze up on the griffin flying overhead. Most of its body is tawny in color, with the feathers around its collar bone being lighter in shade. Its majestic wings were spread wide on either side of its body, occasionally flapping to keep itself in midair. Its legs which were stretched behind it as it flew were very much unlike those of a regular bird's.

I'm sure its gaze is now fixated on me now that I'm an open prey for it. An easy catch. Not if I have things go my way, though.

"H-Hey, you!" I called out to it, spreading my arms wide and feeling my heart start to race once more in anticipation for the inevitable battle. "Come... come face me!"

Even though this might not be a good idea, maybe... _maybe _fighting and killing the griffin would give me a _real _idea of what's to come. Maybe this could help me prepare for all the gorefest that is sure to come soon. Hopefully...

The griffin flying high overhead let out a loud battle cry of its own at my challenge before diving down towards me at a neck-breaking speed. My eyes widened in alarm as I threw myself to the side to get out of its way as it whizzed past the area where I had once been standing at: leaving a gust of wind in its wake. It then quickly flew back up to the sky before I could even try to attack it when it was on ground-level.

...Ohh-kaay... this'll be harder than I thought. How can I kill an enemy that attacks from the air? I suddenly felt like a rodent that is about to get snatched from the ground by a falcon in the air before being eaten. Shit...

Keeping my eyes trained on the griffin overhead, I tried my best to think of a plan to lure it closer to the ground where attacking it would be easier. I narrowed my eyes and squinted from the glare of the sun so that I would not lose sight of the griffin. That was when I suddenly felt my shoulders jolt in shock and my heart giving a jump when I heard Luke screaming from somewhere behind me.

"_AHHHH! STAY AWAY! S-SAMANTHA~, KEEP HIM AWAY, HELP!"_

Whirling around, I saw Luke crazily swinging his sword about in order to keep the Oracle Soldier, whom is now conscious, at bay. Mieu was a good distance away from where the two were fighting: face-down on the ground and probably either too dazed or unconscious.

"_SAMANTHA~! DO SOMETHING, IDIOT!" _Luke yelled again frantically, almost being unable to block the swipe that came from the Oracle Knight with his own sword.

He couldn't do it. He obviously couldn't bring himself to take the life of another human being. He could only defend himself at best now. Even then, panic and fear were clouding his mind, thus making him unable to defend himself properly: his parries were weak and clumsy, he was shaking all over, and he has a watery grip on his sword. Even I could see that.

What...? Was he expecting me, a person with even less experience in battle, to kill that person in his place? How the hell could I do that? I'm not ready yet! But...! If I don't do something, then Luke's going to be the one that will get killed! I don't want that!

Mindlessly, I allowed my feet to take a step forward towards the direction of the two battling males. Maybe... I don't have to kill the guy. Just knock him unconscious again from behind... or even disarm him! Yeah... that would work.

Before I could take another step, I felt a strong gust of wind from the air behind me along with the sound of flapping wings. Before I could even turned around, something sharp and strong dug painfully deep into both of my shoulders and my eyes widened. I felt both of my feet starting to lift from the ground as a shadow from overhead fell all over me.

"Oh no no no _NO!" _I screamed, thrashing about in the griffin's grip on me. Looking down, I saw myself slowly getting up higher from the ground. _No!_ I don't want to die yet!

"LET... _GO!" _I shrieked loudly. Re-adjusting my grip on both of my daggers, I made it so that both of their blades were facing upwards. Without hesitation, I thrust both daggers deep into the griffin's underside with all the force I have. I pursed my lips tightly when blood started to drip on me and down the blades of my daggers. The griffin shrieked loudly in pain (ow... my eardrums...) and started to thrash about. Huh, now it seems that our roles were reversed now.

Since it still has a strong grip on me, I dragged both of the blades of the daggers down the griffin's flesh as hard as I could: ignoring the combined sounds of its cries and its flesh bring ripped open. I narrowed my eyes when I felt more of its disgusting blood fell and land on me.

I suddenly felt the air around me rushing upwards as the griffin dropped back to the metal ground, and I grunted in pain when I felt the cold and hard surface slapping the front of my body with half of the griffin's body on top of me. Ow, that hurt... but at least it _finally _decided to let go of me. With a grimace, I dragged myself out from underneath the griffin's body: making sure to pull both my now bloodied daggers out as well. Wincing, I stood up while taking care of not to fall over. That fall just now hurts quite a bit... I guess it's a good thing that the griffin wasn't that high up from the ground, or else it could have been worse.

As if it was waiting for me to pull my daggers out from its body, the fallen griffin attempted to get back up to its feet, probably even planning to take flight again to get away. However, I wasn't planning to let it go for attacking me from behind, so I quickly rushed back over to it: both my daggers held up at the ready.

"Die already!" I shouted before plunging both daggers down onto its head while it was still held down low. I shuddered violently when I heard the sound of the griffin's skull being broken and its pained, dying wail before it slumped to the ground, dead.

"Ugh... geez, that's... really sick. Gross..." I muttered to myself with a disgusted grimace. With a hard tug, I freed both of my daggers from the dead griffin's skull and trying not to drop them when I saw just how much blood had coated the blades. Ugh... my goodness... and to think that I'm the one who did all that, too... it still felt kind of unreal. Yet... I did that. I actually was the one that killed the creature in front of me... this feels like a kind of fantasy dream. A very realistic dream. I wonder if this is all what hunters felt when they killed their first animal in a hunt.

No... should I feel pride, instead? Maybe...

"_Die!" _I heard a metallic, masculine voice shouted, bringing me back out of my thoughts. Damn it! It's not over yet! Why did I have to space out at a time like this? Luke! How could I almost forgot about him?

There was a terrified yell in response to that. "D-Don't come any closer!"

"UGH!"

The loud sound of metal being shot through metal rung throughout the surrounding area. My eyes widened in realization of what had just happened, and I turned around.

What met my sight was a startling one, regardless of what I had already known would happen from the game's plot-line. But seeing it in real life, right in front of me instead of behind the safety of a TV screen... it's a completely different and new experience entirely.

There was Luke: his head turned away to his side with his eyes squeezed tightly shut and a horribly terrified expression painted all over his entire face. His left arm that was holding onto the hilt of his sword was held out far in front of him. The blade of his sword was embedded so deep in the Oracle Knight's torso area, its tip had came out of the other side of the soldier's body: thickly coated with fresh crimson blood that slowly dripped soundlessly from the blade and onto the metal ground. The Oracle Knight's own sword fell from his loosened hand and landed with a loud clatter on the ground. Other than that, the surrounding area was dead silent.

_"_Luke..._ Luke!" _I called out, inhaling sharply and running over to the young duke's side.

Luke finally chose that moment to slowly open one of his eyes. As soon as he saw the body he had unintentionally ran through hanging off of his sword like some kind of sick human shiskabob, his other eye snapped wide open in horror.

Yelling with distress, Luke quickly pulled his sword back out from the soldier's body: making the corpse limply fell backwards to the ground. From my place standing next to Luke, I could see the wide, dull, empty and overall lifeless eyes of the dead Oracle Knight.

Oh... God... someone just got killed right in front of me. Someone just _died _in front of me! It's not a monster or a wild animal, but a real, sentient human being, just like me and Luke! God... this is... this is... I feel so...

Thankfully, I was torn out of my examination of the corpse when Luke dropped his sword to the ground and fell back onto his rear: shaking and staring fearfully at the dead body in front of us.

"Master!" Mieu cried as he scurried over to Luke's side and started tugging on the material of his pants. However, it appeared that Luke had not even heard the little cheagle.

"I..." Luke said shakily, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I... I didn't... hey... he's still alive, i-isn't he? I-I-I mean... his eyes are still open! H-He... I didn't even mean to... to..." He trailed off, taking in a shaky breath.

I sighed wearily, kneeling down next to him. "Oh Luke..." I murmured sympathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder to hopefully comfort him a bit. "Luke... he's dead. For real. Even though his eyes may be open... there's no light in them anymore. You killed him."

I winced at my own words. Maybe they're a bit too blunt... but how could I sugarcoat the truth when it's as clear as glass and right in front of us? And now that my words had confirmed the horrible fact that he tried to just deny, Luke's facial expression became worse.

"I-I killed..." he repeated my last words shakily. He reached up a hand so that he could clutch a fistful of his red hair. "I killed... a _human._ Another _man_. That... this... I can't believe..."

"Luke-" I started to say. I suddenly snapped my head up in fright when I heard the automatic doors nearby slid open, but I then relaxed and let out a breath of relief when I saw that it was just Jade and Tear making their return. I noticed that both of their clothes were stained with blood that I'm quite sure weren't there before. It looks like they did some fighting of their own.

Though I'm really glad it's just them who showed up first, and not any more Oracle Soldiers. Right now, I don't think we're ready for another fight with Luke like this. ...I don't blame him though. I could understand his feelings regarding the topic of killing another human-being.

Luke... a seven-year-old child who was forced to make his first kill. That's so cruel... despite his physical appearance, he has the heart of a child: he shouldn't be fighting and taking lives like this yet. Screw the people who thinks he should act like a man merely because of his body. Damn you, Mohs! Damn you, Van! Curse them both to oblivion! It might've been better if it was me, would it? I'm older than Luke, so it should be me protecting him, isn't it? Not the other way around. That's one of the jobs of a real woman, _ISN'T IT?_

And yet... despite those thoughts... I couldn't even help. I'm scared too... seeing that soldier getting killed right in front of me had really shook my nerves up. Damn it... why am I so stupid and useless? Shit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!

As I punched the ground in anger, and mentally cursed myself for being so incompetent, Tear quickly demanded, "What happened?"

"Guess!" I snapped, unable to control my anger. At the back of my mind, I knew it was wrong. Tear didn't do anything, and I shouldn't be directing my anger towards myself at her. But seriously... couldn't she just _see_ the bloody corpse that's just right in front of us, as well as Luke's (literally) bloody sword?

Other than what might've been a startled blink, Tear did not show any other outward reaction towards my outburst. Jade, at the very least, observed the scenario before speaking.

"This is bad... The commotion has caused the fonic hymn to weaken."

Luke, just like before, didn't even seem to see or hear anyone. He just sat where he was, bringing both of his shaking hands in front of his face as if in a trance. He still couldn't grasp the reality of what he had just done.

"I... I stabbed him. I... I killed him..." he whispered, looking down at his hands and clenching them shut.

_Now _what should we say? I don't know now. Maybe words of comfort would at least calm him down? ...That's worth a try, I guess. At this point, it's better than nothing. I opened my mouth to do just that.

"If you're scared of killing, then throw away your sword, you worthless reject!"

No... I swear to God that wasn't me.

Snapping my head over to where I heard the voice came from, what met my sight instead of a certain red-haired God General was a cloud of icy-blue appearing in the middle of the air... before a rain of icicles came flying down towards us.

"Look out!" I heard Jade shout. But it was too late.

I could only throw my arms up in front of me to avoid getting struck in the head. However, that didn't do any good, as I soon felt a heavy, sharp and cold pain struck me in the leg. I yelped in pain and could only shout out "No!" before the same painful feeling hit me again: this time on my shoulder. PAIN! Sharp, cold, _pain...!_

Another one soon followed, and this time it hit me right in the forehead, which is the most painful one of all. I could see stars and a flash of light exploding in my vision before it cleared for only a second. I then vaguely saw a blur of red before I felt myself falling over and my entire world fading to black.

_At least... I won't feel... the pain when I'm un... con..._

* * *

_Blazing fire burning everywhere._

_As a flaming piece of wood fell from the ceiling and crashed loudly against the floor, I placed the back of my hand against my forehead and squinted through the bright flames licking and eating away at everything. I'm standing on top of a dais that overlooked the entire room I was in: alit with a vibrant red-orange light from the flames. Everything... everything was on fire._

_I looked over to the entrance located at the far side of of the room. It was right at the opposite of where I was. I could run there though... the fire is nothing. I could run through the flames. I will be alright. Yet..._

_I turned away to look over at the wall on my right. A... symbol? Something is drawn inside a circle... but I can't see it properly through all the smoke inside this room._

_Hearing another loud crash, I turned to look back towards the entrance far across the room from where I was. A flaming pillar had collapsed down in front of the entrance, otherwise blocking what seems to be the only way out._

_...epoc... n... nac... uoy._

_An... eerie chant. What did it say? I can't... I can't tell. Blinking slowly, I looked back towards the war where I had seen the symbol just now._

_It wasn't there anymore. What took its place there instead was a reflection of myself. Ah... a mirror? Where did that come from? Turning around completely to face it, I stared intently at my reflection at the mirror. For some reason... I was compelled to concentrate on it even despite all the fire surrounding me. Like... there should be something important there if I looked hard enough. No... strangely... it felt like the mirror was commanding me to look at it. It's strange... yet also kind of... scary. I watched my reflection stare back at me with an emotionless mask._

_I vaguely heard that chant again, but I am more transfixed by what I am now seeing in the mirror._

_In the mirror, I could see a drop of crimson blood slid down my face from my forehead hidden behind my bangs: leaving a trail of red behind as it continued its descent More started to follow after that. Blood dripped quickly: from the sides of my head, from my cheeks down the sides of my jawline, from my shoulders down my arms, from my neck down to my chest. Even a large stain of blood started to form on my dress as I'm probably bleeding from the chest as well. Where are all these blood coming from...? Am I injured? As if I was in a trance, I looked down as I brought my arms up to my face to examine._

_No blood. I'm fine. ...What? Then why am I...?_

_I looked back up to the mirror in front of me again. As I did, the sound of the flames reached my ears even louder this time. I heard that faint, scary chant again as well._

_"...am..."_

_In my reflection... I saw my entire body completely covered in red blood now. As if... as if I was stabbed repeatedly by an unknown invisible force, or as if I was ripped inside out. When two more drops of blood dripped down from my temple and into my eyes-_

_"Sa... m..."_

_-I blinked once and-_

_"Saman... ha."_

_-my pupils and irises have both turned a frightening red in color with a sickening 'blop' sound. I am now seeing everything in red-! What is happening what is going on-?_

_"Samantha...!"_

"Samantha!"

My eyes snapped open in surprise and I gasped: breathing quickly. What... what?

Blinking a few times, the first thing I noticed was... one blue eye and a light-brown curtain next to it. Wha...?

"Oh, good. You finally woke up," I heard Tear's familiar voice said just as the blue eye and the light brown curtain (which I now realized was just Tear's long bang) pulled away and out of my view. I blinked again, looking up at the blue ceiling above me dumbly.

No fire... there's no fire here. So... I'm... awake now? Is it just a dream? Yeah... seems like it was just a dream. A bad dream at that. Oh... that's good. I don't know what I should do if that were real.

"Mm... Tear?" I called softly, my own voice sounding groggy even to my ears. "What time is it...?"

That question came out of my mouth almost automatically. The instinctive question whenever you got woken up by someone else. Because if someone woke you up, then most of the time, that must have meant that you've overslept, right?

"It should be some time after 3 pm, I believe," Tear responded after a moment of silence to probably calculate the time in her head.

"You have been unconscious for an approximately an hour and a half," Jade added as I sat up, looking over to where he was standing against a wall. "You, Luke and Tear have been struck hard by a fonic arte cast by one of the God-Generals: knocking you all unconscious. I fortunately managed to jump out of the way in time, but we got captured and locked in here."

"Ah..." was all I could say at the moment. "And then... anything else happened while we're out?"

"Earlier, Jade told me that he saw the Oracle Knights were holding Ion hostage back on the bridge," Tear told me, frowning. "We're not sure what happened to Anise, though."

"...I... think she will fine... no matter what might have happened..." I said slowly, the words '_I'LL KILL YOU BASTARDS!' _by a high-pitched and _veeery _angry feminine voice ringing quite loudly in my head as the image of Anise being thrown out of a window and being seen safe and sound later on flashing clearly before my eyes. I quickly cleared my thoughts before I ended up smirking or something. "She looks quite... tough."

"The Tartarus has recently stopped moving," Jade continued. "Most likely, they've taken him somewhere nearby if Ion wasn't kept here with us. So I believed that now is the right time to wake all of you up to take action." He suddenly smiled faintly. "Hopefully, we did not disturb your lovely relaxing slumber, Samantha."

I groaned, rubbing my temples when I remembered just _what _had knocked me out. "No way, how could you say that? My sleep wasn't good at all... I think it's horrible, actually." I sighed, then realizing that my head strangely wasn't throbbing in pain as I expected it to be. "Hey, uh... did Tear...?"

"Yes, I healed everyone's injuries. Don't worry," Tear said with a tiny smile, confirming my incomplete question. "Luke should be fine as well... but he's not up yet. He's been groaning for a while..."

"Luke isn't up yet?" I asked, looking around for the red-head. I quickly found him to my far right, asleep on the only bed here that was laid against the wall. Mieu was sitting close to his face, his ears drooped. Aw... how cute. He's worried.

Back to Luke... since he was facing towards us, I could see his sleeping face. Even though he's still unconscious, the expression on his face looked uncomfortable: as if he's having some kind of nightmare. Oh... I guess I'm not the only one, then. It is kind of weird knowing how he and I are somewhat alike in a way. I frowned when I heard a faint groan resounding from his throat, but he continued to sleep away despite that.

"It seems so," Jade remarked, looking over to his right, which is my left. I looked as well, and I saw the bars of our prison cell, apparently made out of some kind of glowing green energy that could... shock us if we touch them or something. "Tear, if you would. Wake him up as well."

"Very well. I'll try once more," Tear answered, walking over to Luke's bedside. "He hadn't even stirred a bit when I tried before."

"He must be tired..." I murmured, leaning back against the supporting pillar behind me. I then frowned: Luke's probably tired both physically _and _mentally after all that's happened today. Let's see... travelling from Engeve to Cheagle Woods, going to the other side of the forest and into liger territory, fighting the Liger Queen, going _back _across the forest again to meet with the Cheagle Elder, getting arrested, being told everything that Jade had told him about the possibility of war, being held hostage by Largo and nearly getting his neck sliced off, seeing tons of bloodied and dismembered corpses, more fighting and then finally taking your _first_ human kill. ...Yeah... after all that, Luke must be dead exhausted. I know I would be too. In fact, I _am _tired now. Being unconscious does not really count as resting. If it was, my sleep was far from a pleasant one.

And the worst part? The day's not even over yet.

"Can't you let him rest a little longer?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, time is of the essence now," Jade declined. "If we don't make our move now, we won't get another chance like this again. Now only will saving Ion and getting away from the Tartarus will be much harder, especially if they plan to go straight back to Daath, but it will take us even further from our destination: and rescuing Ion from Mohs' custody will all be a wasted effort."

"Samantha, we ask you, and probably Luke too when he gets up, to please bear it a little longer. At least when we all have escaped with Ion," Tear said, shaking Luke's shoulder. She sighed. "We're all tired, but things will only become worse for us if we choose to rest now."

I sighed as well, nodding once in understanding. Looks like we have to push it a little more. Those two _did_ have a good point.

"Yeah... okay, I get it," I replied, leaning back against the support pillar behind me and allowing myself to get lost in my own thoughts as I waited for Luke to wake up.

_Poor kid, _I thought, letting my forehead to rest against the top of my knees after bringing them up to my chest.

Seven... he's only frickken' seven, and already he's been forced to come into terms of the fact that he had just killed another human being. How many kids of that age has to do that back home on Earth?

Back home, I have three younger cousins. The oldest one being ten-years-old right now, with the second one being eight, and the youngest one should be six now. Luke is only a year older than my youngest cousin! How hard has it gotten to Luke? If my younger cousins have been the ones to swing a sword and kill someone, while being fully aware of death and what they have done... how would they react? Would they cry?

I shook my head to myself. No... don't think of that. All three are back home, safe and sound. Safe back at home... don't worry...

I looked up from me knees at that, staring distractedly at the wall across from me. Home... where I'm _not _at right now. Many hours have already passed since my first meeting with Ion back at Cheagle Woods. Has anyone noticed me missing yet? What will they all do? I'm not even on Earth anymore. Everything... everything I had seen, felt, done and even _smell _until now had proved it to me. I still don't know how or how it could be logically possible, but I'm actually n Tales of the- _no_...

Even everything right now is not just a simple game anymore. There's no cheerful background music, no Gald dropped after killing a monster, no burst of light when the enemies we killed have been defeated... this is _reality_. _All this is real_. I'm not in just a game... but in an entirely different world called Auldrant: where everything is different to what I've known from my own world.

The blood from the griffin that I have killed earlier still remained on my shoulders and blouse: staining them red. I tried to wipe the blood off with one hand (which just did no good) while I moved my other hand over to my shoulder. I felt around the flesh around my shoulder with my thumb and soon found what I was looking for. The small puncture wounds made by the griffin's claws. It doesn't sting anymore, probably due to Tear's magic. There only thing left that showed that I had been attacked by a griffin in the first place are the puncture wounds I just found, but they felt too small: Tear's magic probably closed most of it up. How marvelous healing magic is...

Overall, I'm a mess. Then again, we all are one way or another. I just wanted to shower and change into a set of fresh new clothes, I really do. I don't like walking around in dirty clothes. If I could, I would wash away all my troubles through a shower, as well.

_It's not that easy. What will I do now?_

For now? Don't think about Earth. Don't think about home. Don't think about my family. All that would do is make me brood, make me get homesick, make me sad and will probably make me cry as well. Think about the here and now. I need to go with the flow like I always tend to do anyway. When I figure out something about getting home, then that's good.

But until then, I _need _to stick with Luke and the others. Not only do they make me feel safe and more comfortable than I would be if I'm alone elsewhere... but they also gave me a sense of direction, at the very least. They'll be travelling all over... I might find something along the way. Even if I don't... it's better than to just sit in one place, twiddling my thumbs and not being able to figure out where to go next on my own.

"My, it certainly is rather quiet when the young master is not awake."

Annnd... that's Jade tearing me away from my thoughts and back to reality. I felt the corners of my lips twitch. Not only was I always told back home that I'm rather sensitive, but I tend to think too much as well. How the hell am I going to survive here?

"Sorry... I didn't know you want to talk," I said, exhaling once through my nose.

"I'm a bit surprised, seeing as you're quite conversational whenever you're around Luke." Jade placed his chin into his fingers in a thoughtful manner and I felt one of my eyebrows twitch.

I swear... if that man makes a joke about me being in love with Luke again at a time like this...! I like my men _older_ than me, thank you very much!

...Not that I'm interested in a romantic relationship right now. It's hard to find my type of man nowadays. Well, back on Earth at least... there's probably more decent men here in Auldrant. Like Guy. Now _that _is the kind of man I would call my type! He's nice, friendly, could cook, understanding, mature, can be funny at times... he probably isn't the type of man who would court a woman just for their looks either.

Then again... for all I know, getting into a bed with a female would prove to be totally hazardous for his health thanks to his condition. Oh, wait... does that make him a virgin, then?

...Oh my God... what did I just thought about?

"Really?" I asked in response to Jade's question, raising my eyebrows before shrugging. "It's _Luke_. It's hard to stay quiet around him. He would make you open your mouth even if you don't intend to."

Jade looked amused at that. "I believe I could understand that feeling."

"As do I," Tear's voice said in agreement from her place next to Luke's bedside as she tried to shake the duke awake to no avail. Wow... what a heavy sleeper. Looks like I was right about him being tired after all.

"But Jade..." I started. "Um, did you... uh... are you alright?"

I paused. Why did I ask that all of a sudden? Is it because of the attack on the bridge earlier? But no... I should know Jade's the only one who jumped out of Asch's attack in time.

Oh... _OH!_ That's right! How could I forget? Asch!

That should be it. Jade was the only one who could have seen Asch's face. So he should know by now that Luke's a replica. That's right... so does that mean that he's now thinking about his part in the creation of fomicry: the reason that basically started all this mess going on? Is he kicking himself for that now? Ack... but I can't tell what that man's thinking.

Especially when Jade's amused expression didn't even twitch an inch in my eyes. "It's do nice to see the young ones looking after their elders so well." I rolled my eyes at that and he continued. "But yes, I am alright. I can still keep up with you youngsters even with the fon slot seal placed upon me."

"How long does it usually take to-"

"Luke!"

I stopped, turning over to where Tear was. At the same time, Luke sat up: pressing the palm of his hand against his temple with his eyes squeezed shut as if he has a headache. I turned back to face Jade, and he was staring at Luke with an unidentifiable look on his face: his amused expression now gone. I turned back towards where the other two were when I heard Luke grunt.

I heard Tear sigh faintly. "...Thank goodness. You were moaning in your sleep."

Opening his eyes, Luke pulled his hand away from his face. He blinked slowly, trying to pull his mind out of sleep and be aware of his surroundings. He turned his head over to our side, taking in our current surroundings.

"...Where am I?" he asked.

"In a cabin, onboard the Tartarus," Jade responded in a neutral voice. From the sound of his voice... yep... it's back to business. He could really switch personalities in the blink of an eye.

Luke's eyes widened in realization at that. "That's right... Monsters attacked and-" here, he choked on his own words. He then looked down, cradling his head in his arms and shuddering as if he remembered something unpleasant. Jade turned his head away at the sight, looking out of the energy bars of our cell.

"All right, we need to get out of here and rescue Ion," he said.

"But they took Ion away," Tear interjected.

"From what we overheard the Oracle Knights saying before Samantha was awoken, it sounds like they'll be returning to the Tartarus," Jade informed Luke. "We'll ambush them and rescue him then."

"W-Wait!" Luke protested quickly, looking up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed he was on. His face was desperate. "If you do that, they'll be more fighting!"

"Yes," Tear confirmed calmly. "What about it?"

Luke looked at her in disbelief, before he elaborated. "We might end up killing people again!" He pointed out as if it should be obvious: getting up from his place. Taking that as my cue, I stood up from my place as well and stretched my arms behind my back and getting rid of the kinks in my shoulders.

"That can't be helped," Tear said, which made Luke look even more horrified. "They'll kill us if we don't kill them first."

"Wh-What are you saying?" Luke exclaimed incredulously, his voice nearly breaking. "We're talking about human lives!"

I exhaled quietly at that, glancing down as Jade said, "Yes. Human life is a valuable thing. But if we sit here and do nothing, a war will start and even more people will die."

"Right now, this is our battlefield," Tear told Luke seriously. "There's no good or evil here. Just life or death."

When Luke stayed silent while clenching his fists his anger, Tear continued. "There's danger even in normal. One could be attacked by monsters or bandits..." I was surprised when Tear gestured towards me at that. "You heard her story. If Samantha had not chosen to run, she would have been killed and would never have met us. Those who lack strength do things like band together like she had done before, or hire mercenaries, and travel by coach. Those with strength to fight, do. Sometimes even children. They do what they must to survive."

"That's got nothing to _do_ with me! I didn't know _anything_ about that, and I_ didn't _come here because I _wanted _to!" Luke exploded. I blinked when he suddenly turned towards me, flinching when I saw the anger in his eyes. "Say something! You don't want to kill either, do you? You don't have to fight if you don't want to! We can just grab Ion and run, can we?"

Ah... I guess Luke wanted someone to side with him, and had thought that person would be me because of my conversation with him earlier. Maybe I should have kept quiet about that. And... as much as I wanted to stay on the sidelines just this once...

"It's not like that," I murmured quietly, letting out a breath. "It's not that easy. Even if I don't want to, I _have _to, you know? If it comes down to it, I'll-"

"But _why?" _he demanded loudly. "Why do we have to be forced to kill people when we don't want to?"

"Don't think of it as being forced to kill someone just for the sake of it," I advised, looking down. "Just... see it as protecting yourself. Luke, you want to go home, right? You can't do that if you don't fight for your life. We have to do what we need to do, you know?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this from you," Luke said exasperatedly, throwing his arms up in frustration. "Let's see if you can talk big when you actually have to kill someone."

I gave him a forced, weak smile. "If by chance I start crying, then I'm giving you and _only_ you full permission to scold and slap me at the back of my head, Luke. But make no mistake about it, I will fight if I have to despite all that. I won't hold you guys back. I don't want that. Sorry, Luke: to make you fight even though I understand your feelings about this."

"No," Luke shook his head. "You _don't_ get it. Nobody does."

"Astonishing," Jade remarked. "What kind of environment must this one grow up in to be this ignorant of the situation...?"

"Ever since the Malkuth attempt to kidnap him, he's been forbidden to leave his manor for his own safety," Tear explained, looking over to the Necromancer.

"I see... Then I suppose it's natural for him not to know anything about the world..." Jade murmured, his eyebrows raised.

"I can't help it!" Luke snapped, glaring at the older male. "I don't have memories of my childhood! I don't know anything!"

"It's my responsibility that all of this happened, so I promise I'm going to get you back home," Tear told him. "In return, don't get in our way. If you're not willing to fight, you're only going to be a burden."

Luke turned his head to look back at her. "...I didn't say I wouldn't fight! I just don't want to kill anyone."

Tear shook her head. "It's the same thing. Right now, fighting means fighting against the human beings who took the Tartarus. If you don't want to kill the enemy, then stay hidden behind us."

Luke opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. He then sighed, his shoulders slumping. "...I'm just saying, let's not fight any more than we have to. I don't want to die, either."

"It's not like I-!" Tear started to say. When she heard that her voice was raised in an angry tone however, she stopped to regain her composure before trying again in a more softer voice, looking away. "It's not like I'm killing people because I want to."

"So, you're going to fight?" Jade prompted, turning to concentrate on something outside from across our prison. "I'll be counting on you as part of our force."

Luke closed his eyes, as if trying to keep his patience (which is a pretty rare thing for him to do). "I said, _I will_."

"Good."

Then there was a small explosion nearby that made both Luke and I jump with surprise. Before we know it, the energy bars that kept us contained in this prison were gone, and Jade ran out.

"Wait, what the hell did he just do?" I asked quickly, shocked. "I didn't see anything!"

"It seems that the Colonel has fired a fonic arte at that fontech on the wall over there," Tear replied casually, walking out with a calmness that I envied.

"Geez..." I sighed, before walking out with Luke just in time to see Jade speaking into that wall-phone thing.

"By my name as Necromancer, heed my command. Initiate emergency plan, 'Corpse Hunt'."

Only three seconds have passed before something happened. There was a mechanic sound all around us, and just like that, the lights above us all went off: plunging us into near darkness.

"Ai..." I reached for the person closest to me, which I remember is Luke, and gripped onto the sleeve of his shirt. "Man, I_ hate _the dark...!"

"Don't be a wuss, it's not _that _dark," Luke muttered. I felt him slap my hand away and I pouted before trying to adjust my eyes to the dark. Luke was right... it's not really that bad at first. I could clearly see everyone's silhouettes, at the very least.

"What did you do, anyway?" Luke asked.

"It's an emergency shutdown system I set up in advance. It should take them some time to recover," Jade answered.

"Wow..." Luke breathed.

"Where should we head from here?" Tear asked.

"Go to the port hatch. During an emergency shutdown, that's the only one that would open," Jade answered. "The Oracle Knights holding Ion should try to enter there as well."

"Then let's go," I said, starting to walk away.

"But what about our weapons?" Luke asked, which made me stop. My eyes widened as I patted around my person. Oh... damn, I didn't even notice!

"They're probably still nearby," Tear ruminated. "Let's look for them."

"Check all the rooms in this corridor?" I asked. "Ah, that would take time. Split up, then?"

"Yes, we really do not have the time," Jade agreed. "That way the rooms will be covered faster. We have no time now, go."

"Right."

"Of course."

"I'll check the ones on this side then..." Luke sighed, walking off. Seeing this, I jogged down the opposite way from where he had gone and slipped into the first room. Squinting, I kept the door open wide open as I walked in and looked around. Just a bedroom... nothing here. Next room, then. A few minutes and several rooms later, I finally hit the jackpot: a huge treasure chest against a wall in what looked like a storage room filled with other stuff and boxes.

"Al-right~!" I smiled, walking into the room and over to the chest first. Grabbing hold of the lid, I pulled it open. I was quickly greeted by the sigh of our very familiar objects. Tear's bag, her staff, Luke's saber, his wooden sword, and my daggers. Smiling, I first pocketed the daggers into my pants pockets before slinging Tear's bag over one shoulder. I grabbed both of the swords before standing up and looking around. Is there anything else in here I could take with me? I don't think Jade will worry about the more trivial things like grabbing some extra stuff on our way out.

After taking a quick look around the storage room, I had found a decent-sized satchel lying at the corner of one of the boxes. It's a bit dusty, so I slapped it against the wall a few times. Satisfied, I quickly continued my search. I had found a small bag of coins, a long sword in a sheath and a few bottles stored away in which I assumed are gels. Though what kind they are or how many of the same thing: I couldn't tell. I just stuffed everything, including Luke's wooden sword, into my new satchel along with the bag of coins I found. I think it would be good if I get to carry around my own stuff. I don't want to mooch off of Tear too much or anything like that. And even if we don't need the extra stuff we found... at least we could sell them off at the nearest town for some extra money.

When I believed there's nothing else in the room, I walked out into the hallways and towards where the others are.

"Found them," I informed, handing Tear her bag and weapon and Luke his saber. "We need to get going. Which way now?"

"Follow me," Jade instructed before walking down the hallway. After following him, he soon led us into... what?

"Another storeroom, Jade?" I asked, surprised.

"Oh no, not at all," Jade said in a chirpy voice. Okay... huh? "We'll find something fun in the very back, behind all these boxes."

"Uh... kay...?"

Tear walked forward, pressing both of her hands against its side left side. "So, we just need to move these boxes, then?" she asked.

"That's right," Jade confirmed, and Tear started to try and push the box towards the far side of the room.

"By the way, Luke," Jade started to say as he watched Tear struggled to push the box. "I can't say I think much of you forcing a woman to do the heavy lifting."

"I'm fine Colonel," Tear insisted, but he voice was slightly strained as she tried to work harder.

Hearing this, Jade sighed. Shrugging, he raised his arms up. In a teasing, somewhat challenging voice, he asked, "Or do rich aristocratic boys lack any muscles?" He sighed once more. "And here I thought even your brain was made of muscle."

I hide a grin behind a hand at that, especially at what Luke said next.

"_What did you say?"_

I couldn't help but snort quietly when Luke comically stomped over to where Tear was and shooed her away. "Out of the way. I'll do it."

"Th-Thanks..." Tear said, sounding a bit flustered as she made her way back over to us.

"Hey, wait a minute," Luke suddenly said after easily pushing the box out of the way in just a few seconds. "Jade, you're a guy, too. You help out!" he demanded.

Jade's response?

"No, I'd rather not. You're younger than I am, after all. At my age, all my joints ache..."

THAT response would have sounded reasonable and serious if it wasn't for Jade's sarcastic yet teasing voice. Jeez, Jade...

Even from my place, I heard Luke grumble quite loudly to himself. Something about 'lazy ass', 'slave driver' and 'four-eyed devil'. Uh... okay.

I smirked to myself as Mieu cheered, "You can do it, Master!"

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

And so, the next following minutes is us waiting for Luke to push all the boxes out of the way enough so that we could walk over to the very end of the room to find the 'special something' that Jade had mentioned. Once we reached the far side of the wall, we found it: a large crate marked with a white skull an two bones crossing each other right below it. Yep, this thing is completely _totally_ safe for us to use, really!

...That was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell.

"...This is your 'something fun'?" Luke asked Jade after a moment of silence with us staring at the box for a good few seconds.

Tear tilted her head slightly as she examined the box a little more thoroughly. "Colonel, is that gunpowder?"

Hearing that, Luke made this almost comical startled sound before scrambling back and behind me, much to my disgruntlement.

"_Gunpowder?" _Luke repeated incredulously from his place now next to me. He had a hand on my shoulder, probably so that he could pull me in front of him in case it suddenly blows up or something without warning. Sighing, I returned the favor from earlier and lightly slapped his hand away as he demanded, "_Why is THAT here?"_

"A group of soldiers aboard the ship had been pilfering supplies to sell on their own," Jade explained. "I discovered that they'd been hiding gunpowder here. Though this commotion has made my investigation pointless."

I can see Tear nod in understanding. "I see. So we're going to ignite this and destroy the wall."

They're... seriously going to really blow this up? I'm starting to feel uneasy. I better get ready to run and hide behind something then...

"Are you _serious?" _Luke asked, sounding as if he believed that the both of them are off their rockers. "You sure that's going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine as long as we're not caught in the explosion," Jade said casually, as if something like this so not at all a big deal and is something normal. "Now, let's hurry."

"Do we light it with a fonic arte?" Tear asked.

"No, we light it with Mieu. You're on, Mieu," Jade said that in a sing-song voice. Is that man crazy?

"Yes, sir!"

I heard Mieu taking in a huge breath and my eyes widened as panic overwhelmed me. _WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE COVER?_

_"HEY, WAITWAITWAITWAIT! I'M NOT-"_

_"WHOA, WAIT A-"_

I let out a loud scream along with Luke when there was a burst of fire from Mieu's direction. I felt something cover me so I held onto it tightly for protection when there was a loud, ear-deafening explosion and an eye-blinding burst of bright light that was soon followed by smoke and the smell of burnt ashes. I coughed.

"OHMY_GOOOOOOD_, MIEU! Jesus Christ, are... are you _trying _to fucking KILL us?" I demanded angrily, my heart hammering. My tears watered with tears when smoke got into them, so I closed them.

"What she said!" Luke agreed, sounding quite pissed. His voice sounded very close to me. "JEEZ! You could've waited for half a second!"

"_Mieuuu..." _Great, now I feel a bit bad thanks to that sorrowful voice. "I'm sorry..."

"No, that was perfect Mieu," I heard Jade assure the cheagle, his voice cheerful and overall completely unfazed. "Now, let us be going. Unless the young couple over there prefer to bask in each other's heart-warming presence a little longer?"

Huh? What. I opened my eyes, confused. All the smoke from earlier had dissipated faster thanks to the now large, wide gaping hole in the wall, so now I could see everything more clearly, especially with the aid of the new light from the sun outside. As soon as I opened my eyes however, the sight that greeted me fade my entire face grow hot fast.

When Mieu blew up the gunpowder box, I had felt something cover me, and in turn, I had instinctively grabbed on to it as a shield of sorts. Yeah, that thing? It was just some_thing_. It was some_one_.

Yep. As soon as that explosion occurred, me and Luke have kind of... well... we kind of grabbed on to each other during the midst of things without even our own knowing. So right now, the both of us are kind... hugging each other as if our lives (well, considering earlier, that might as well be the case in our minds) depended on it.

As soon as Jade made that teasing comment however, we both practically pushed the other away: flustered and embarrassed.

"It's not... we didn't mean...!" I tried to say. Oh, my face is probably that funny right now because Jade let out a light laugh.

"Of course it isn't. It's all right, I understand that youngsters enjoy exchanging affection with one another, so don't mind us."

"SHUT UP!" Luke fumed, storming over to the hole and climbing out after taking a look outside. "Damn geezer, you're pissing me off! Let's just go already! Hmph, me and a dirty peasant girl? Don't make me laugh!"

Ouch. Even though I don't see him that way at ALL, that kind stung. Wow. Best 'rejection' of the century. Stingy...

"Yeah, I totally agree with him," I snapped curtly to Jade as I walked pass him. The spot where the box of gunpowder had once stood is now nothing more than a ring of black soot. "You admit you were old earlier, didn't you. Then let me make myself clear for that deteriorated old brain of yours'. I'm. _Not_. Interested. In. A. _Kid!"_

"Why, I'm hurt, Samantha," Jade said lightly as I examined the area beyond the gaping hole in the wall. The hole led out to a pathway high above the now mobile Tartarus that was lined with golden cannons. We seem to be... I don't know: 30 feet or something from the ground.

"But if it wasn't for this brain of mine, then you all would be fighting Oracle Knights by now with no idea of how to shut down the Tartarus. So... I ask you now, where would you be without me, hm?"

...Go fuck yourself, Jade. Now how the hell am I supposed to retort to THAT?

"Ugh, you're just so-! UGH!" I grumbled, climbing out so that I could catch up with Luke: who I can see is waiting for us by a ladder. As soon as I reached his side, he shook his head.

"So, did you have any idea of how those two could just watch an explosion go right off in their faces?" he muttered sourly to me, crossing his arms.

"Because they're ro-" I stopped. Do they have robots here? ...I guess not. "...Because they see stuff like that all the time, I guess."

"...What kind of things do they _do_ daily to not get freaked out over a damn explosion? Seriously, I'll never get them."

"Neither do I, Luke. Neither do I."

* * *

_Now then..._

* * *

"Luke, don't blame Samantha for what happened," Tear scolded the red-head, who kept his gaze stubbornly on the ground. "Thinking about what could have happened won't solve anything. I told you earlier, didn't I?"

"I know..." Luke sighed. "I _know. _But it's just... I feel horrible and sick in the stomach..."

"Guilt, sorrow, anger, empathy, hesitation..." Tear murmured. "...all fighters need to suppress those kind of emotions when fighting to kill. Protect your own life, fight to survive. If you think too much, then that will only make the strain heavier on you. Stay focused: your very life depends on it. Do you understand?"

Luke only bit his lip as a silent response.

"Feeling for those you fight and slain is an admirable trait... but only if it doesn't become a hindrance," Jade remarked, sighing slightly.

"Shut up..."

"Are you still afraid to fight even though you said you will, Luke?" Tear asked quietly.

"I said shut up, already! All of you!" Luke snapped, his head snapping up and his eyes ablazing. "You want to know if I'm afraid? If I'll get in the way? I'll show you when it comes to it! I'll prove it! I won't let you all do the fighting with me hiding in the back! I'm fighting too! I have to!"

"Well said," Tear approved, nodding once.

"If your performance lives up to your words, I'll have no complaints whatsoever," Jade promised, not smiling.

"Shh!" I whispered loudly, my eyes looking out of the port-hole window near to me. I knelt down so I could still see outside without having to expose myself too much.

"We won't have to wait long..." I whispered, still looking out. "Because... because they're all back. Ion's with them. A... blonde woman and four soldiers."

Walking up towards the Tartarus, I could see a certain blonde woman in black with two Oracle Knights flanking either of her sides. Walking behind them are two more Oracle Soldiers, guarding Ion whom is walking slowly in between them. I frowned: Ion looked... pale and tired. I also noted that both Oracle Knights beside him have to help him along by holding onto both his arms.

Back to the blonde woman... I recognized her as Legretta the Quick of the God-Generals. She's dressed in the standard Order of Lorelei clothing, and it looked _really _similar to Tear's outfit style except for the fact that it's black with the occasional white in color. She wears black gloves with white cuffs, and extremely long boots. Draped across her arms is a long, red cloth. Why she carries that around, I don't know. Legretta's blonde hair was pulled back into a ragged ponytail that almost looked like a bun with some side-bangs framing her face.

Though I couldn't clearly her face, what I_ could _see other than Legretta's overall appearance is that... she's rather... well-edowed. She's... as big as Tear... I'm jealous.

...I'm about to fight for my life, and all I could concentrate on right now are Legretta's big boobs? Dear God, what is wrong with me?

We all pressed ourselves even further against the wall as we prepared to launch our ambush as soon as they opened the door near us.

"Have they realized the Tartarus did an emergency shutdown?" Luke whispered.

"I'd be rather surprised if they haven't," Jade responded. "More importantly, we can't use fonic artes. There's no time for casting."

"So Tear can't put them to sleep," I noted. "And since she has to sing, she can't do it even now, then... we would give ourselves away..." So much for running off with Ion without a fight now...

"That's right," Jade confirmed.

Luke scoffed at that. He probably wanted something like that to happen to avoid fighting. To showcase his frustration without actually having to reveal why he doesn't like the idea, he made a jab towards Jade.

"It's not like you can use any decent fonic artes, anyway, with that fon slot seal," he scoffed.

"How can you say things like that?" Tear demanded quietly from her place. "The Colonel's been working hard to undo the fon slot seal."

"Did he tell you that while we're out of it?" I asked quietly.

Jade shook his head. "I don't mind anyway. It's the truth. Regardless, get ready. It's time."

"_Mieu."_

That was the sound Mieu had made when Luke reached down and grabbed him firmly by the back of his head.

"I need you to fire when I tell you to, got it?" Luke asked the cheagle. "Don't answer. Just get ready, Thing."

Adjusting my newly-gained satchel around my shoulder so that it's resting on my back, I pulled out my daggers from my pockets: gripping them tightly and prepared to use them. I felt myself break in cold sweat and my heart started to beat faster in anticipation.

_'If you think too much, then that will only make the strain heavier on you.'_

That's what Tear said. Don't think... fine. I'll take it. She's right. Don't think... just act. Don't think at all, just act if you want to fight someone and stay alive. Don't think at all... only act...

I inhaled sharply when we heard something from outside. The mechanic stairs from the Tartarus had been lowered just now. Next... it was faint at first, but it quickly grew louder as an Oracle Knight ran up the stairs.

And this was it.

The automatic doors in the middle of all of us slowly started to slide open: allowing rays of light to filter into the dark hallway we were in-

-and we all acted.

* * *

**End of the chapter. Reviews would be lovely.**

**BTW (if you haven't got it yet)... the "Back then..." means that it is a long flashback, and the "Now then..." is the present time. So basically, most of this chapter is a flashback, because I don't want to write the whole journey to the port hatch after the whole "DON'T BLOW UP THE GUNPOWER, MIEU!" scene, but still leave you all at a cliff hanger 'cuz I'm feeling mean today. XDD**

**So anyway... that's all for now, folks. Ciao, ciao~!**

**Next chapter: Enter the Amazing Guy! :D**


	9. Enter the Amazing Guy!

**Thank goodness… I FINALLY get to finish writing about scenes on the Tartarus. I just wanted to get the Tartarus over with, since the time in that part of the story is rushed and tight: giving me no room for original conversations between the party members. But now the party's going to be on the field, that would give me an easier and more time for character bondings. So, you could say that this chapter could be a filler chapter.**

**But now… the party's not only free, but cute, sweet little Ion's back in the party. And also, Guy's gonna join the party! :D Haha… I've been waiting for a while now to write him.**

**And sorry if my fighting scenes suck. I'm not good at writing fighting scenes, but I'm still really trying anyway.**

**IMPORTANT: On another note... I'm going to make my chapters more longer from here on out. :D It means a slightly later update... but I can cover more stuff that way and not feel rushed.**

**Anyway! Let's. Go!**

* * *

**Enter the Amazing Guy!**

This was it.

The automatic doors in the middle of all of us slowly started to slide open: allowing rays of light to filter into the dark hallway we were in-

-and we all acted.

"Fire! Now!" Luke commanded Mieu quickly. Thrusting the baby cheagle right up in the Oracle Soldier's helmeted face, the man was treated to a face-full of flames point blank: making him stumble backwards and trip down the long, metal stairways and all the way to the floor right by Legretta's feet.

I hurried down the stairways right behind Luke as Legretta whipped her guns out from behind her and aimed them at us. However, she looked at something above us and was forced to take a giant leap backwards when a spear dropped down from the sky and embedded itself where she once stood.

Half a second has not even passed when Jade landed right next to his spear, pulled it out from the ground with amazing ease before lunging towards the female God-General to engage her in combat.

Being the first to reach the ground, Luke ran past the downed Oracle Soldier and towards another one who was charging towards us with his blade drawn. The other two remaining Oracle Knights stayed where they were: keeping the now struggling Ion at bay and as far from our grasps as possible.

I stopped where I was on the stairways for just a moment, looking down at the now stirring Oracle Soldier on the ground as I distinctly heard Luke to tell Mieu to fire up ahead.

Don't think! Just act!

And with that, along with the fact that I'm close enough, I jumped the rest of the way down… and right on top of the Oracle Soldier (who let out one of the loudest, pained "Oomph!" I have ever heard) as my metal cushion.

Ow, okay. Bad idea. That hurt a little. But he still broke my fall, nonetheless.

Reaching over to the guy's waist, I pulled his sword out from its sheath before throwing it away as far as I could before pressing both of my daggers against his neck.

"You lost," I said, unable to contain my triumphant smile. If this is all it took, then we could have a chance after all. "Don't bother getting up, okay? Don't make any kind of movement until we tell you to." My smile then dropped. "Don't make me use these."

I put emphasis on that by pressing both my daggers deeper into the chink of his armor where his neck should be. I carefully moved so that one foot was pressed against his stomach while the other rested against the grassy ground: taking care of keeping my daggers close to the man's neck as I did so.

"You…" The Oracle Knight hissed, and I could see him gritting his teeth through the visor of his helmet.

I sighed. "If… if you don't want me to kill you, then please do as we say. Con…. Considering the amount of people you have to… kill today on the Tartarus… I'm being merciful. Be glad that my other ally over there-" I tilted my head slightly towards Jade's direction. "-whom is the infamous Jade the Necromancer isn't the one to have you at his mercy. I can promise you that he won't be as kind as me."

I could see the man's eyes widened in fear at the mention of Jade's alternate title, but kept quiet. Good. Looks like he got it.

I turned my head to my left to see how the others are doing. Luke has his Oracle Knight lying by his feet, and the teenaged male was still holding onto Mieu (who looked quite dizzy and hurt for some reason) and has him facing the guy in case he got up again. Judging from how most of that guy's armor was charred and smoking, it's safe to assume that Luke had gone all pyromaniac on the guy with the cheagle's help.

Jade had just delivered a Sonic Thrust at Legretta's torso, who jumped up and above Jade's head to avoid it. As if he had predicted that, Jade quickly spun around just as Legretta landed on her feet behind him and got up. Before she could even raise her guns, she jerked back when she suddenly found the tip of Jade's spear against her neck. Despite this, her face remained nonchalant and devoid of any emotion.

"Jade Curtis…" She murmured in a stacattoed voice, her cold green eyes narrowed slightly. "You're a force to be reckoned with, even with your fonic artes sealed."

With his free hand, Jade pushed his glasses back up his nose. "That's quite a compliment. I'm honored. Now, throw down your weapons."

There was a brief pause as Legretta considered her options. Then, thinking she has no other option of getting out of it without getting killed, or believing that she doesn't have a chance with Jade as she is now: Legretta dropped both of her guns to the ground.

Now, seeing that our side has an advantage, Jade called out to Tear, without even taking his eyes (or spear) away from Legretta.

"Tear! Your fonic hymn!"

Emotion was finally shown on Legretta's face as her eyes widened in surprise. "Tear…?"

She snapped her head over her shoulder to see the melodist of our party standing at the very top of the metal staircase: her staff out as she prepared to sing.

"Tear Grants!" Legretta exclaimed when she saw her former student.

Tear faltered when she heard Legretta's voice, and it was her turn to look surprised as she looked back at her former mentor. "Major Legretta!"

My eyes widened when I saw a large shadow appear behind her. "_TEAR! BEHIND YOU!_"

There was a shot of purple electricity, and Tear yelled as she fell forward and dropped down the metal stairways all the way to the ground. Oh dear… that must hurt.

A large liger growled as it walked out. Unlike the white ones I saw back at Cheagle Woods, this one is yellow in color with dark-brown stripes all over its body with longer ears along with a white mane around its neck and below its chin.

Seated on its back with her legs wrapped loosely around its neck and patting it on the head was a small young girl. She had long pink hair that reached down her middle back with eyes of the same color, but a bit darker in shade. Her eyebrows were shorter than what is considered to be normal: almost like dots in their places over her eyes.

She wore the black Maestro uniform from the Order of Lorelei along with a black frilly mini-skirt. She has long, black boots that went past her knees and gloves of the same color that went way past her elbows. They are all held up with a dark-red belt. Finally, on top of her head, was a black cap with the symbol that reminded me of Ion's staff on it.

I had also noticed that she's carrying a strange, scary-looking doll with her. The doll looked as if its entire body was made out of pillow cases. Its entire torso was white in color. Its left arm and right red was pink. Its right arm (which was clearly torn) and left leg was a dark-blue in color. Finally, its large head was a tan color. In all the parts of the doll's body, there were black markings that were drawn to look like dotted-eyes, though the face and torso areas were the only ones to have a 'mouth' drawn below the 'eyes'.

That girl was the God-General Arietta the Wild.

At the sight of the new arrival, everyone from our side had unfortunately let their guards down and paid for it. Just as Luke's opponent and Legretta retaliated, I suddenly felt a cold, metal hand clamped itself around my arm and shoved me to the ground hard as the Oracle Knight flipped me over. I soon found myself on my back with a heavy weight on top of me. I realized with alarm that the Oracle Soldier I had been previously holding at bay was reaching a hand towards me.

"You little brat, I'm going to kill you! Give me those!" he demanded, grasping both of my wrists to get my daggers.

"_No!" _I protested, struggling and kicking wildly in an attempt to push him off: careful not to accidentally drop my daggers on myself. As his grip on my wrists tightened and he was starting to push them down, I panicked. In a last, desperate attempt to free myself, I tensed up one of my legs before bringing it up between the guy's legs as hard as I could.

I'm not sure if he was really in pain or was just startled, or even tried to move me into another position... but his grip on my wrists loosened enough to make me be able to yank them out of his grasp before flailing them around wildly again in a pathetic attempt to ward him off of me.

"_No! Get the hell OFF me!" _I shrieked, suddenly lashing out when he leaned closer to me again to grab my weapons again with my eyes shut.

I would realize much later that that would be his worst mistake ever.

At the present time however, I was only startled when I actually heard the sound of bones being penetrated and a gurgled grunt of extreme pain from the guy above me. Opening my eyes once more, I was horrified to find that... to find that...

The dagger I had just lashed out with... it struck him right in a chink below his helmet... embedded right in the middle of his throat. I stared in numb horror when I noticed that blood was already dripping down the blade. The Oracle Knight's eyes were wide through the visor of his helmet, and that only scared me more.

"Ohmyo_hmyGod! _I-I-I'm_so_sorry! I'msorryI'msorryIdidn'tmeanitpleaseforgiveme!" I pleaded frantically as I yanked the dagger out as forcefully as I could in my blind mind of panic. I couldn't think: my mind's a jumbled mess now, full of fast-paced thoughts that went and flew by as fast as a plane.

And because of that, I realized a bit too late that _forcibly_ yanking a sharp_ blade _out of a man's _throat _too quickly only made it worse. I had probably ripped more flesh and cut more bones than intended. I was trembling violently when the Oracle Knight on top of me fell down, and my eyes widened when his head landed right next to mine's: the feeling of the warm blood from his throat starting to soak my left shoulder.

Oh... GODS!

"Frey! Oh Lorelei, _Frey_!" I heard one of the Oracle Knights cried out in alarm, but I didn't bother to look. I was still shaking at the fact that a _dead body was on top of me!_

"_Brother!_ Say something!" Another male voice cried out. "You... _you_ **_bitch_**! _What have you done!"_

"Don't you _dare _move from your positions, men! Keep your formation!" I heard Legretta command sharply. She does not need to mention it for everyone to be aware of the clear, promised threat hanging at the end of her sentence if her orders were ignored.

I could only scream as I shoved the man's body up and away from me before scrambling backwards as fast as I could. As I did so, I heard a gunshot before I suddenly felt a booming pain at my upper back: enough to make me yell and fall over to my side.

As soon as I found myself on the ground, a large shadow loomed over me. I slowly looked up to see Arietta's liger friend staring down at me, growling with its sharp fangs bared. No...!

"Master, we're surrounded…!" I heard Mieu cry in despair. Goddammit, Mieu! I could tell we're fucking surrounded, no need to make it worse with your damn voice!

"Commander Legretta! My brother-!"

"Stay down for now, Weimar!" Legretta ordered harshly, and I heard her clicking her gun as she got it ready to shoot again if needed.

Blinking slowly, I looked over to where that guy- no... where _Frey_ was. He was still lying face-down on where I had pushed him to. Red blood has now started to pool around the area on the grass where his neck should be. Shuddering, I closed my eyes and turned my head down. I don't want to look... I don't want to see what I have just done...! Did I... did I really-

"He's dead. It's impossible for him to survive a blade to the throat and for that same blade to be removed too violently than needed. Look at him, he's completely motionless. There's nothing we can do for him now," Legretta said coldly, making my insides freeze. I didn't even notice that Legretta sounded as if she couldn't care less about a minor fatality.

_That_ said it... She just confirmed it...

I... I just... I just _KILLED _someone!

Oh Gods... I think I'm going to be _sick_...!

"Arietta! What's happened to the Tartarus?" Legretta had then demanded, tearing me out of my thoughts. When I slowly looked over, I saw that Arietta was now standing by Legretta's side. Legretta had both Jade and the still grounded Tear at gunpoint, while Luke was on the ground with a sword to his throat by the Oracle Knight above him. I'm not sure whether that one is the one called Weimar or not, but since the other two that are guarding Ion were both looking over my way... I guess it's one of those two. Oh, and Mieu was clutched in Luke's left hand still. I had almost missed him.

Arietta brought her doll up to her chin: pressing the lower half of her face into it.

"It's still inoperable…" Arietta answered her fellow female subordinate meekly, hugging her doll closer to her chest. "I was only able to get this far because my friend tore open the wall."

"Good work," the blonde female nodded, keeping her eyes secured on Jade and Tear. "Restrain them and-"

_**THUMP!**_

My eyes widened in shock and surprise when an orange blur barreled right onto Legretta from the sky. Arietta screamed in fright as the orange blur quickly zipped over to where Ion was being held captive. Just as the two Oracle Knights released Ion (who then wisely chose to duck down) and brought out their swords, the next thing I saw was a blond man cutting both of them down with startling ease in just a few swipes. Because of the sudden interval, I guess they did not have enough time to properly defend themselves. At the corner of my eyes, I saw Jade move away.

As both of the Oracle Knights fell to the ground with simultaneous grunts, the blond man quickly turned around and brought his sword up just in time to deflect some bullets from Legretta: who had fired from her place on the ground and catching her breath still from being used as a land cushion.

As Legretta ceased her fire to stand back up on her two feet once again, the blond man stood up straighter with a grin.

"Enter the amazing Guy!"

Oh, Gods, Guy... can you just make me fall in love with you even more than I already am?

"Guy!" Luke exclaimed, sounding truly happy for the first time in hours as he quickly rolled away from the Oracle Knight near him (whom is distracted with Guy's appearance).

Noticing his captive was getting away, the lone Oracle Knight was about to move after him as Legretta prepared to fire at Guy once more. However, they both paused and the monster over me let out a short growl of outrage as it turned its attention towards the sound of a startled scream that resounded throughout the surrounding area.

"Arietta!" Legretta called out when she noticed the pink-haired girl was now being held hostage by Jade a good distance away. Jade was holding the tip of his spear against Arietta's throat, while his free hand was holding one of her arms up by the wrist. Arietta's eyes were squeezed shut, and her free hand was pressing her doll against her body as closely as she could as if her life depended on it.

"Now, drop your weapons once more and go back inside the Tartarus," Jade instructed sternly, narrowing his eyes at Legretta since she was the one currently leading the group.

"I-I'm sorry... Legretta...!" Arietta whimpered pitifully, sounding quite ashamed at herself.

Legretta merely sighed, dropping both of her guns down once again with a shrug. "It can't be helped..."

The blonde female then motioned to all the remaining Oracle Knights to enter the Tartarus, especially the ones who were just getting up from Guy's sudden attack. Guy himself had a hand on Ion's shoulder, watching them all enter the battleship cautiously. As they all entered, I notice that one of them turned to look in my direction and I cringed despite myself. Needless to say, I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when all three soldiers and Legretta herself entered the hatch we had previously came out of.

"You're next," Jade said to Arietta, looking down at her. "Take your monster inside."

Arietta's pink eyes turned to gaze at Ion sorrowfully. "Fon Master… I… I…"

"Please do as he says, Arietta," the Fon Master said gently.

Arietta stared at him for a while longer, before looking down and nodding obediently. After Jade had released her, she motioned to her liger friend near me to move back inside the Tartarus. It merely grunted in response before trudging up the metal staircase and up towards the hatch with Arietta right behind it. As they did so, Jade walked over to a spot right next to the staircase.

So when Arietta and her liger had entered the hatch, I saw Jade pressing what could probably be a button before the automatic doors to the hatch closed shut.

"All of the hatches should stay closed for a while," he informed us as he walked back. I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief before standing up. As I did, I winced when I felt a pain on my back so I quickly reached a hand to it with a grimace.

"That... was disastrous," I hissed. Tear quickly made her way over to my side, pressing a gentle gloved hand on the injured part of my back.

"But everything had turned to our favor in the end, so I believed we were successful in our escape," she pointed out to me. I then felt a cool, pleasant sensation on my back, and I found my body relaxing as the pain from Legretta's fon bullet faded away.

"Thanks..." I murmured when she took a step back after finishing her work. She nodded in response with a smile and we both turned to Luke when we heard him start to speak in a jovial voice. I realized that this is the first time that Luke had sounded like that. Like, he was _really happy_. Not just pleased when things went his way or acting sarcastically pleased, but really, genuinely _happy_.

"Whew. Thank goodness... Good timing, Guy!" he praised, reaching a fist up and bumping the blond man on the shoulder good-naturally as if they were close brothers.

Guy smiled at the notion, clapping a hand down on Luke's shoulder, a look of relief in his royal-green eyes now that he had finally found his charge after days of him being missing from his home.

Now that I had a closer look at him, he's tall. He's almost as tall as Jade, since he's standing at about 6 foot tall, and Jade's, like, only an inch taller than him. Ah, it meant that I had to look up whenever I want to talk to him face-to-face... but oh well. It can't be helped. Guy had short but spiky blond hair with most of it parting to his left, and his royal-green eyes were warm and friendly.

Guy was wearing a white V-lined sleeved buttoned shirt. Over that, he wore a unique open orange, tailed vest that reveals the shirt underneath it, and dark murky-green pants. Resting diagonally around his waist was a light-green belt, where the long sheath of his sword is resting on the (Guy's) left side. He also wore brown boots that reached up to his knees over his pants and brown gloves. Around his neck was a green collar with a flat golden medallion resting at the bottom center. A large supply bag was hanging off his back, its strap slung around Guy's shoulder in a way so that it won't fall off.

"I looked all over for you. Never thought you'd turn up in a place like this!" Guy remarked, amusement in his voice. He gave Luke a good once-over look with his eyes and let out a breath. "You're a mess... but I'm glad you're safe, overall."

"Why did you assist us?" Tear asked, looking wary of the additional member of our party. Guy turned to face her, now looking serious.

"Like I said, I was looking for Luke. When I saw him in trouble with those guys, I decided to help get him out of trouble so I can bring him back home safe and sound. I don't really know the full details of what's going on over here, but that doesn't matter much to me, honestly."

"How did you get onboard the Tartarus? Why were you up there in the first place?" It was Jade's turn to ask questions. He pushed his glasses back up his nose.

"It was suspected that Luke's disappearance was a plot by the Malkuth Empire," Guy said, frowning. "I was around the area when I saw the Tartarus from a distance. I decided to sneak on board to see if there were any news or rumors about a young red-haired duke from Baticul, just to make sure." He looked back up to the Tartarus. "And it's a good thing I did too."

Luke looked both annoyed and angered at the fact that his best friend was under suspicion. "Hey, he's on our side, okay? I know him. Let him off the questions, will you?"

Jade nodded, looking satisfied at what he had just heard. Even Tear seemed to relax a bit as Ion smiled.

"I thank you for your aid, sir," Ion said to Guy sincerely. The blond man merely smiled and waved it off.

"By the way Ion, where's Anise?" Jade asked.

"The enemy had surrounded both Anise and I when we had been trying to escape," Ion informed. "I secretly handed her the emperor's letter for safe-keeping. But when I got subdued and Anise came to my aid, she was knocked out of a porthole by a soldier." He looked worried. "But I heard soldiers say that they couldn't find the body, so I'm hoping she's all right..."

"She will be," I said, letting out an exhausted sigh. "She probably went on ahead so that she wouldn't be captured, especially since the letter's with her. The Oracle Knights would need to take that from her. Jade... what was that about 'knowing where to meet' before she left with Ion? Is that related in any way?"

Jade nodded to that. "Yes, indeed. Saint Binah is our rendezvous point should we get separated from Anise. So let's head there now."

"Saint Binah?" Luke questioned.

"It's a city to the southeast of here," Ion answered him, pointing towards the direction of where the city should be.

"Okay. We just need to make it there, right?" Luke asked, sounding calmer now than he had been earlier on the Tartarus. It's probably because of Guy's presence that Luke felt more comfortable now. I swear... that man's like a miracle worker or something.

"What about your troops? They're still inside this ship, right?" Guy asked Jade quickly, still looking up at the Tartarus.

But Jade shook his head grimly. "I can't imagine there being any survivors. If they left any witnesses, it would lead to war between he Order of Lorelei and Malkuth."

Luke's eyes widened at that. "...How many people were onboard?" he asked hesitantly in a quiet voice, looking as if he'll dread the answer either way.

Jade pressed two fingers to his temple as he closed his eyes. "This was a top-secret mission, so only half the usual number: around 140."

I grimaced at that, looking down and clenching my daggers tighter as I shoved them into my pockets. One hundred and forty people? One hundred and forty men, one hundred forty possible sons, daughters, siblings, husbands and wives...

I closed my eyes so that I would not have to look at Frey's corpse. It was clearly shouted earlier... Frey was a brother and someone's son. And I... I robbed a family of him...

Placing a hand over my face, I heard Guy mumble solemnly: "Over a hundred people were killed..."

"Let's get going," Tear advised us gently, smoothly turning us away from the horrible conversation. "If we get caught here, the war that follows will claim the lives of many more."

"...Should we run and get a head start, then?" I suggest, pulling my away from my face. "We could cover more ground away from the Tartarus before they could start it up again."

"Fon Master, are you okay with that proposal?" Tear asked the green-haired boy. Ion blinked, and looked up at us with an assuring smile.

"Yes!"

"Then... _go!" _Guy stated, taking off towards the southeast direction with Luke hot on his heels. I quickly ran after them as well. Jade and Tear are probably doing the same behind me, while also making sure that Ion's not left behind.

* * *

I don't know how long we've all been running, nor did I try to keep count of the minutes that passed by. But by the time we all had started to slow down to a quick-paced walk, the sun had already set on the horizon: now looking like a boiling crimson semi-circle in the distance. The skies above are a gentle hue of blue and lavender, and the areas closer to the still setting sun are a radiant orange in color. It's a lovely view indeed.

Plains, plains and plains are as far as my eye could see stretched out into wide, empty landscapes to my right, while there were a decent number of trees and foliage to my left. We're all now walking on the pathway that would surely lead us to Saint Binah. A long while back, we had reached a fork in the road, and with Tear's and Jade's guidance, we all took the west path. After that, it was just more running before we all eventually slowed down to the walking pace we're using now.

I was breathing heavily as I walked, getting some much needed air back into my system after running for who-knows-how-long. But I'm now beat... I doubt I could run again even if I wanted to. From what I could tell, Luke up ahead was out of breath as well, and Ion is even worse off than the both of us combined.

When Tear had earlier suggested the idea of a break however, Ion merely waved the idea off as politely as he could, claiming that he was fine and that he could still keep going. It was both an admiring and worrying feat of Ion. Admirable because the poor kid's really pushing himself not to slow us down despite his obvious exhaustion, and worrying because he looked even paler than earlier, if that was even possible. Beads of sweat had already started sliding down his face from his forehead and he was breathing heavily, yet he pushed on despite Tear's insistence until she reluctantly dropped it.

At the moment, Ion was walking behind Tear and Jade, who were at the very lead and discussing something among themselves. Luke and Guy were right behind them, speaking quite casually like they haven't seen each other for months. Well, from the looks of it, it seems that Luke was recounting everything that had happened and Guy would just laugh at the more funnier parts, which just made Luke annoyed. Though while Luke would throw a giant tantrum or deliver a long string of insults to us... with Guy, the closest thing to him being intolerable was some slight whining and complaining and that was it. He's treating Guy as well as Ion.

Mieu was scurrying right by his master's side, occasionally inserting his own input and just making the red-head annoyed. Cue the occasional "Shut up, Thing!" or kicks from Luke to the poor cheagle. Of course, that would then lead to Guy trying to calm the boy down.

So that left me at the very back of the group, keeping my thoughts to myself as I trudged along with one of my hands resting on my arm. Not that I cared much for company at the moment. I just wanted to be left alone for now.

...I didn't have time to think about _that _earlier when we ran. I was only concentrating on not falling behind too far and pushing my legs as hard as I could, so that I can keep on running even when they felt like they're on fire. But the thought was there. It was there at the back of my mind just waiting and whispering faintly to me, just lying in wait to be brought up to my mind's surface to be dwelled upon when I have nothing else to think of. I tried to push it back... _way _back to the very recesses of my mind, to be forgotten, to not fret about it...

...But... an air ball cannot stay submerged underwater for too long. You can push it down, but it'll always surface back up on its own. It's the same with me now.

And even though I try not to think about it... it felt as if a tight noose was tied around my heart the entire time, even as we were all leaving the Tartarus, and I felt a lump in my throat.

I looked down, watching my feet as I continued walking. I bit my lip.

I... I really did kill someone. I killed a man. I killed a friend. I killed... a brother. I just robbed a family of a beloved son. Frey... wasn't a 'bad guy'. He wasn't 'evil'. He was just doing his job as an Oracle Soldier. Looking at it from a third person perspective... he just can't help it if he truly believed that following the Score is the sure path to prosperity. Hell, most of Auldrant's population _depends _on the Score heavily. To them, it's probably like... probably like following the words of God or something to that effect. If you defy God's words, bad things will surely happen. And in this case... Yulia Jue probably has the role of that, I guess. Her alongside with Lorelei.

...I wonder what Frey's parents would think when they heard the news, if they're still around. No doubt... they would be devastated and heartbroken. His brother... Weimar, was it...? He already hated me. I could hear it along with anger in his voice when he screamed at me earlier.

This is... this just felt so surreal... like a nightmare. But I'm awake... I'm awake in a living nightmare now.

I'm... I'm a murderer. I've become a killer...!

I held my hands in front of me, examining them as I walked. To my disgust, there were some beads of blood on them, so I quickly wiped them together as hard as I could. No, no! I don't want any blood on my hands! I don't want them to be stained with dirt, with dust... so why should I enjoy the fact that they're stained with blood now?

What's so admirable about killing a human-being? What? That it makes me look kick-ass, now? Oh, I would hate the person who complimented me for being kick-ass and 'cool' just because I _STOLE someone else's life! _Bragging rights? Whoever gained reputation for killing hundred of people and to brag about it is inhumane to me. Getting their fame by killing? By taking someone else's father, husband, brother, son and cousin? Disgusting. I never liked the idea.

...That thought had just reminded me of Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX. She was _admired_ for _killing one hundred knights all on her own_, she **_bragged_** about it... I _hated_ her for that. Even though she's a fictional game character, I loathed the idea. She's also known as "the knight who silences even crying infants". She even attacked _innocent civilians_ during the game, a genocide of a harmless race, just because she was ordered to and nothing else. She has no thoughts of her own when it comes to other peoples' lives... only thought about gaining her queen's favor and not being out-shined. _What's so admirable about that? _Yet fans over the internet fawned and cooed over her because she's 'cool' and 'kick-ass', not to mention 'hot'. Ugh... it disgusted me _to no end_. What's so admirable about killing other humans, other family members? If game characters like Luke and the others exist now... no... have been shown that they're all _real_, what's to say about other game characters? I'm not looking forward to meeting her if that was the case... even though I doubt she'll be in this world. Amazing how people's opinions on certain fictional characters might change after meeting them up close and personally.

I can't... I can't just _shrug_ it off, oh goodness no. It's a big deal to me! I can't... I'm not a fighter. I'm just a high-school student who's trying to push past my boring monotonous life... how can I...?

I'm not a cold-blooded knight like Beatrix, not a soldier like Tear and Jade. I can't be nonchalant about it.

I felt tears sting my eyes as I stopped rubbing my hands together. They're now a light red in color and stung a bit... had I been rubbing them _that_ hard? I didn't even notice.

Though blood is not on my hands now, I could... I could still... smell them. I smelt the coppery scent of blood, and I could also smell the scent of metal from when I'm holding onto my daggers.

I could... I could feel it. I felt the vibration in my hand when I plunged my dagger into Frey's neck and breaking bones in the process, I felt his blood drip down onto them... it's... it's the same as the wyvern I killed earlier, but yet... but yet... so _different. _I heard his pained, dying gurgle... I saw his wide eye through the visor in his helmet... I still remember the heavy feeling of when he slumped on top of me-

No no no no! I don't want to remember!

I felt goosebumps on my hands at the memory, so I rubbed them again: sniffing my tears back. No... I can't cry... not in front of Luke, Tear, Jade and the others. I don't want them to see me like this... I don't want them to see me as someone weak on the inside. But... but it just felt so _bad_...

Even if I was all the blood from my hands... they will be forever stained with the blood of someone else.

When I get back home... _if _I get back home... I'll be returning as a killer. As a murderer.

I sniffed, doing my best to blink my tears back: feeling like they're about ready to overflow.

I'll be embracing my mother with blood-stained hands. I'll be patting my baby cousins' heads with blood-stained hands. I'll be wearing my first wedding ring on a stained finger. I'll be holding my first child with the arms of a murderer.

_Disgusting, brutal woman. How can you taint innocent people like your family with such filthy hands? _A voice at the back of my head, sounding quite similar to myself, mocked in a whisper that only I could hear. _You can't take it back. Never again will things be the same. Who are you, to take someone's life as if you're more superior to them? Who gave you the right to make that judgment? Crybaby. Weakling. Coward. Slug._

I closed my eyes, and started to pray in my heart. I'm not sure if my prayers could be heard or not, but I don't really care at the moment. It felt like something I really must do. Whether it will be heard or not... well...

...No... I mustn't cry. I mustn't, I musn't, I musn't.

_Oh... oh God... if you could hear me, if you are also here... Oh God, please forgive me for committing such an irreversible, atrocious sin._

I can't take it... there's no way I can continue the rest of the journey like this. I'll just slow everyone down. Maybe I should just stay at Saint Binah and think of something on my own. I should leave the party... I can't kill any more people like this...! I don't want to! I never asked for all this, dammit! I should-!

"Samantha?"

My shoulders jolt with surprise at the sudden, unexpected voice.

"_Ah...!"_

I quickly turned my head away from Ion, who had slowed his pace down until he's walking right by my side without even my noticing. No, no, no! I can't let him see me like this! I shouldn't be weak, I shouldn't cry in front of him!

I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes with one hand: making it look like I'm just wiping off some sweat.

"Ye-" I coughed into my free hand, sniffing once quietly before forcing myself to cough again to steady my voice so that it wouldn't sound as shaky as it was. "'Scuse me. Yes?"

Moving down both of my arms so that I could cross them protectively over my chest, I finally turned my head to look at Ion, who was... giving me quite a sympathetic and worried look. Dammit... don't look at me like that, Ion... you're just making me feel worse.

"Are you alright?" he asked, probably just out of politeness first.

"Y-Yeah..." A lie. A total, utter lie. But it's a nice white lie, nonetheless.

It was clear that Ion didn't buy my answer for a second, and his leaf-green eyes softened even more. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" My eyes widened. What? Where did that come from?

"It's because of my presence that you have gotten arrested. If that hadn't happened, then you wouldn't be forced to do things that you don't want to do," Ion replied remorsefully. He had a sad frown across his lips. "You wouldn't have been dragged into all of this conflict, so I-"

"Stop it. I don't want you to say sorry."

"I'm sorry," Ion apologized again. He really reminds me of Colette Brunel, honestly. "But... you know, Samantha, that... that person you killed? You shouldn't feel bad for it." He gave me a hesitant smile. "Excuse me... I may not be the one to talk, but... you did all the things you did to help me and the others, so I think it's brave of you. You did more to help than I did."

I scoffed disdainfully at that. "Stupid nonsense."

"It's true," Ion insisted. He then gestured to my clothes, which were covered in blood. Haven forgotten about that, I suddenly felt embarrassed and self-conscious of myself.

"You could have fled as soon as the others were distracted outside the Tartarus, and even earlier... you could have just told us to drop you off while we're still on the Tartarus. But you still chose to come with us. I'm sure you're doing your best to fight alongside us. You're really not a bad person."

Indeed... he does remind me of Colette Brunel right now.

I felt myself smiling ever-so-slightly despite myself. "Thanks, but..." I felt my smile drop again, and I felt my heart constrict even more. "I... I can't just..."

No... I can't tell him. I can't tell him my intermost thoughts as much as I wanted to.

Ion just gave me a reassuring smile. "The Oracle Knights, while I am ashamed to say so, have murdered many Malkuth soldiers today, which are completely unnecessary, I believe. The only part they have in my affairs is to safely escort me to Kimlasca. My goal is to make sure King Ingobert receives Emperor Peony's letter."

He then frowned, looking ahead. "Had I chosen to travel completely on my own after escaping from Daath, been more cautious in my movements, then surely everyone onboard the Tartarus today would have been spared. The Malkuth soldiers died because of my presence on the Tartarus. I am responsible for everything that has happened up until this point."

"No, that's not right," I protested weakly, sighing and looking ahead. I watched Luke telling Guy something with a huge smile. The blond man had then laughed at whatever it is that was just told.

"It's not like you asked for the Malkuth soldiers be killed, Ion," I murmured. "Don't pin everything on yourself."

It's not right. Someone as young as Ion putting all responsibilities and guilt upon his own shoulders. It must have been hurtful... the Oracle Knights are part of the Order of Lorelei, and Ion is supposed to be the highest ranking individual there. Yes, the Oracle Knights that attacked today were part of the Maestro Faction, but Ion was still, technically, their superior. It's such a shame that they followed Mohs instead.

"It's true, though," Ion said lightly, but with his eyes narrowed slightly. Not a glare, but a more half-lidded thoughtful yet tired look. I then realized something.

"Sorry. For killing one of your-" I stopped mid-sentence when Ion suddenly held a hand up.

"Please don't apologize. I could understand your reasons. It was merely self-defense in your case," the Fon Master said, dropping his hand. "I don't blame you at all. The fault is not yours."

"...He had a brother... and probably a family waiting, too," I mumbled pitifully. I heard Ion inhale from his place beside me.

"The duty of a soldier is a dangerous one," Ion reminded me gently. "Just like the Malkuth soldiers he had undoubtedly killed during the attack, Frey died performing his duties. Frey died fighting for what he believed was right. It was an honorable death, at the very least, especially if it's you."

"Huh?" I asked. This... oh, Ion... you... this is too much...

Ion turned to look at me, smiling. "You care for the person you had killed, even after it was all over. You did not kill in cold blood. I think Frey would not be too angry if he knew that the one who killed him was worried for his family. He was being thought of in a considerate way after his death instead of just being brushed off so casually as if he wasn't another human being like us. I believe he would be glad."

"Why..." I interrupted him. Dammit... my vision is getting blurry now. "Stop making me sound as if I'm such a nice person. I'm not..."

I felt a tear slide down. Dammit, too late... it started. I can't stop now. I placed a hand over my nose and mouth as I sniffed: feeling more tears drip down.

"I'm not...! I'm not a... s-special person," I hiccuped. "I'm just... I'm just a coward who killed out of... f-f-fear...!"

"Ah, Samantha...!" Ion's eyes widened, and he quickly placed a hand on my arm in a comforting gesture. "It's... your first time taking a human life, isn't it? It's okay, your reactions to it are completely natural. Don't be too hard on yourself about it, please!"

I closed my eyes, feeling my shoulders shaking now. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing freely now. Gods, I'm so pathetic...

"Luke-!"

"No, Ion! Stop! I'm fi-"

"What?"

Goddammit!

Sniffing, I quickly wiped away my tears with both of my hands as Luke strolled over to us. From behind him, I could see Guy giving us a curious look before turning back to Mieu, who he picked up. Luke had his eyebrows raised as he reached our side.

"Samantha is..." Ion started to say, but I quickly waved a hand.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm fine, really," I forced on a smile.

"She's actually feeling bad for what she just did back on the Tartarus," Ion told him anyway, and I inwardly cursed when I saw him furrowing his brows.

"I'll leave you two to talk for now. If you would excuse me," Ion said with a knowing smile, walking on ahead so that he could talk to Guy and Mieu now. I glared at the Fon Master's back, but then sighed.

Luke moved so that he's now walking by my side. Not even a second has passed before he gave me a light shove in the shoulder, looking expectant. "Well?" he prodded.

"I..." I stammered, unable to look up at him all of a sudden. "I... I don't know what you mean..."

I heard Luke let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you think I'm _that_ stupid?"

I winced despite myself, placing a hand on my arm again. "I... I'm sorry, Luke..."

There was now a brief silence between us, both of us not knowing what to say next. It was Luke who broke it with a question.

"It felt terrible, didn't it?"

"...Very much," I admitted, still keeping my gaze down. Oh, what the hell. We're on the same page anyway. "I... I felt sick. Guilty. It... It hurts, Luke. I didn't even mean to kill him."

"I know."

"But... I panicked. I was scared, I thought he was seriously going to kill me with my own daggers, so I... I wasn't even thinking."

"Yeah, I know."

I covered my face in my hands. "I... oh Gods, Luke, I'm so sorry. You had it worse than me, and here I am, whimpering and crying. Dammit, I'm so stupid... I shouldn't be... shouldn't be crying..."

I sniffed, and the both of us were silent once more. At that moment, there was nothing but the sound of the wind, the sound of the birds chirping, and the murmur of conversation up ahead from the others.

"...I would have hated you if you haven't."

I looked up at that, wiping away my tears and taking in a deep breath. I looked over to Luke, who had his hands in his pockets. He was staring up at the sky as he walked.

"...Huh?"

"You've never killed before, right?" When I shook my head, he nodded. "If you hadn't cried, I would have been pissed actually."

I blinked at that, befuddled. "Luke?"

He rolled his eyes skywards, and he kicked the ground lightly as he walked. "You heard me. If crying makes you feel better, then go ahead, don't let us stop you. It would also let me know that you're not as cold as those two-" he inclined his head towards the direction of Tear and Jade up ahead, "-are. You didn't want to in the first place, so I think it's fair that you can cry as much as you damn want if it makes you feel better. Don't hide it and make it look like I'm too blind too see it. I'm not an idiot, geez."

I shook my head. "No, Luke... it's not that simple." I smiled wanly. "You didn't even cry when you killed for the first time."

Luke seemed to hesitate at that, clearly uncomfortable. He glanced at me, looking suspicious. "...Would you think I'm unmanly if I, _by the off chance," _he put extreme emphasis on those four words. "_By the off chance_ that I told you I wanted to?"

I shook my head. "No, not at all. We're just human, Luke."

He seemed to relax slightly at that, though he still looked skeptical. "Yeah, well..." he fidgeted, then shrugged. "...I... _wanted_ to. But... I'm more... angry, than anything. Plus, I didn't want Jade to see."

"And... did you?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head. "Heck no. I wanted to, but I didn't. Don't tell Jade or Tear that though."

"I won't," I promised quickly. "I have no reason to, anyway."

Luke turned to look at me, now looking annoyed for some reason. I blinked, confused.

"Wh-What?"

"Stop looking so sad already," he ordered sternly, jabbing me in the shoulder with two fingers. "That look on your face is putting me in a bad mood."

I snorted at that, finding some humor in his words. "Luke...? First you tell me that crying is alright, and now you're telling me not to look sad?"

"I never said to cry _in front of me_," he defended himself. "It's... weird." He suddenly paused. "Actually... _you're_ weird in general. But seeing you sad is even weirder in a bad way."

I smiled at that. Ah... that's just his way of saying that he feels uncomfortable when girls cry on him, huh? Then again, I'm sure no one back at his manor does that to him.

"And have you forgotten what you told me back on the Tartarus?" he continued, his brows furrowing. "What was that? 'Don't think of it as taking someone else's life, but protecting yourself'? Yeah, that sounded right."

He blew his bangs out of his face, but it only fell back to its previous place. "Snap yourself out of it, will you? If you went and get yourself killed, I'll-" he suddenly stopped himself, then grunted: frustrated. "What I meant is... I don't want you to get hurt and get killed either, alright? If killing someone else means looking after yourself, then just _do it!"_

My eyes widened at that, and I gaped at him. Though Luke stubbornly kept his gaze ahead.

"Luke..." I murmured. He grunted once more.

"You're the one who said it, so you could do it, I think. ...Whatever," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Just stop pitying yourself already. If I could fight back, then you should too."

His eyebrows suddenly flew up when I startled chuckling. I placed a hand over my mouth to hide my grin before laughing quietly to myself some more. Oh my God, that is just so... so...!

"What? _What?" _Luke asked defensively, but I waved a hand at him, still chuckling.

"No, no, no. You're right. You're absolutely right," I giggled. "Gods, how could I forget...? Yeah, heh... sorry, Luke. You just reminded me of something important, is all. Haha." I shook my head. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

"...Is that sarcasm?"

"No, I mean it," I shook my head again, smiling. "You're a good kid, Luke."

His face flushed at that, and he only stared straight ahead.

So simple, yet so... spot-on and true: just like a child. He's worried, but it's subtle. ...It appears that Luke has some traits of the short-haired version of himself inside of him from the very beginning. If I was reminded of that fact, I would remember it from this moment the most.

But Luke is right. Ion is right. Jade is right. Tear is right. Everything that they had said earlier about killing is right. I'm not the only one who's upset and guilty. I'm not the only one who has it bad, I'm not the only one who has troubles. Jade, Tear, Ion... they're all doing their best ever since the Tartarus had been invaded in their own ways.

And how do I repay them in the end? By just crying and whimpering like a child behind them: too worried about myself. While I was stuck in my own pity-party, the others are already thinking ahead. Of how to reach the next city, how to reach Kimlasca, what to do if a certain incident arises and so on.

...I need to pull myself back together. I need to _suck it all up_ and be a real woman already. Luke needs it as well, and he's the most 'innocent' so to speak out of all of us.

I need to look after Ion. I need to look after Luke. They're both the youngest of the group right about now. Even though Tear, Jade and Guy are all here... I'm with them as well. I shouldn't be a burden. And damn it all to hell if I'm going to walk out of the party with my head bowed low and my tail tucked in between my legs. I won't let _that _be their last image of me, oh hell no!

I need to be strong for the party. I need to stay alive so that I could find my way home and help the party at the same time. It's an honorable thing, and... it's definitely the right thing to do.

Killing people... that will be... hard still, I will admit. But I'll try not to kill unless necessary. But even then... I won't falter. I won't hesitate anymore. Never again. I don't want to die. I don't want _anyone _from this team to die, to get hurt when I could have prevented it. More people will die if we lose and give it all up now from the impending war, and all the lives lost on the Tartarus will be worth for nothing. This indeed isn't a game any more.

I won't disrespect the dead like that, no.

I get it.

I understand now.

I'm not a fighter, but that's fine. I'll train, and I'll help the party. I am their ally now, so I have to give them no reasons to worry about me. I shouldn't hold them back for myself. That's selfish, cowardly and wrong.

I smiled. "Yeah... thanks Luke. For reminding me. I get it now. Don't worry... I'll definitely have your back."

"What the hell are you saying?" Luke challenged. "_I'm_ the one who's going to look after _your_ back. _I'm_ the better fighter."

"Hehe. So we're partners, then," I smiled. "We'll help each other up when the other needs it, alright."

"I can look after myself." He rolled his eyes. " But whatever, I'm going to talk with Guy some more. Don't worry about it too much."

I nodded to assure him. "I won't." I won't indeed.

Thinking about it now, I've always hated my old, sheltered self back on Earth. Back home, I've always been seen as weak-hearted, dependant, too shy, too meek, too sensitive... I hated that part of me. At home and at school, there had always been strict rules holding me back, so that I could be a proper lady.

But I'm on my own in this world now, and I can be whoever I wanted to be with no restrictions. I will be braver, I will be stronger, I will be more skilled, I will be more confident... the things that I've always wanted to have.

This could be my adventure as well. I will break it. I will break the shell of my old self and be the person who I wanted to be. Be a person more admirable, both to others and myself. I will break the shell and say goodbye to my old self... and who knows? I might be going back home a better woman with my head held high: no regrets.

It's wishful thinking. Maybe. Like I said... who knows? But I'll try. I'll try to do my hardest from here on out. No more tears for myself from here on out.

That... will be my own personal goal now. If it's not for others, then it's for myself. _Thank you, everyone, for reminding me of that, even though indirectly._

So with that in mind, I continued walking to catch up with the others: feeling a lot more lighter on the inside.

* * *

I _seriously_ wanted to shower and change into a new set of clothes now. My clothes are stained in blood, so I probably looked like some kind of crazy chainsaw murder chick or something.

And while I remember thinking that same thought earlier today, my desire to shower and change grew even stronger now.

Why, you may ask?

Because _Guy Cecil_ is here.

Yes, yes, I know he was with us since our escape from the Tartarus, but I didn't really notice him completely, you see? First, I was too busy running as far and as fast as I could, and then after that, I was too deep in thought and generally feeling sorry for myself.

But now that I'm free, and I have nothing else to think of... it just... _hit _me. _Guy Cecil _is _here! _He's there _right in front of me! _And he's, like everyone is, is _real._

And... I won't deny it... I really, really like Guy. I mean... how could I not? He's, like, every girl's dream man.

So with that said... it took me everything I had to NOT go totally fangirl all over him and quite possibly creep him out. Not only that... but I have two opposing voices in my head that kept arguing the entire time. My fangirl side against my rational side. It kinda went like this:

**_'OHMYGOSH! Guuuy~! I love him~!'_**

_'Stay calm. Just met the man: don't want to scare him off and make him think we're insane.'_

**_'I wanna try hugging him! It would be so cute and funny!'_**

_'No. No. His phobia is because of a traumatic experience! Don't make light of it!'_

_'**Maybe poking him repeatedly is enough... I want to see him react because of me~!'**_

_'Hell no. Stop it. Resist the urge! We're just going to be mean!'_

**_'Guuuuy~~!'_**

_'No! Stop it!'_

...I _kindly_ told those two voices in my head to _shut up_ by slapping my head against a passing tree, which earned me a strange look from Ion. I quickly said that it was just a headache. Dear Lord...

"Uh... hah..."

I looked over and instantly felt alarmed when I saw Ion on his hands and knees: breathing heavily with sweat dripping down his face even faster than before.

"Ion, are you alright?" I asked worriedly. Tear instantly rushed over and knelt down by his side: placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" Luke asked the same question again after several seconds of silence, which involved Ion gulping deep lungful of air through his mouth.

Jade made his way over, frowning as he observed the young Fon Master. "Ion... you used Daathic Fonic artes aboard the Tartarus, didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question.

"That thing you did back at the cheagles' place?" Luke inquired.

"I'm sorry," Ion said immediately after taking in another deep breath, closing his eyes. "My body just isn't built to use Daathic Fonic artes..."

I instantly noted that Ion, while he did not deny Jade's question, he did not correct it either. I believe I'm the only one here besides Ion himself who knew that Ion had been used to open a Sephiroth Door close to the Tartarus at that time.

"A fair bit of time has passed, so I thought I'd recover, but..." Ion trailed off, sighing heavily as he brought one shaky hand up to his forehead.

Seeing this, Jade nodded to himself: having made a decision. "Let's rest for a while. At this rate, we risk shortening Ion's life."

"Why not call it a day and set up camp, then?" I asked, looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark. Should we continue in the morning?"

The sun had already set past the horizon, so the sky's now a light, soft indigo color. It wouldn't be long before the stars become completely visible. The clouds rolled by lazily, a dark-blue in color.

"I think we're far enough away from the Tartarus," Guy added, looking back the way we came. "We've run quite the distance."

"Yes... I suppose so," Jade remarked, a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"Right. So... firewood?" I suggested. At Tear's nod, I nodded back. "I'll go search for some then. Luke, do you want to help?"

"No way!" Luke declined loudly, collapsing on his rear for emphasis. "Why should _I _work? I'm too beat, anyway!"

"Fine, fine. I'll do it on my own, then," I shrugged, nearly rolling my eyes. "The rest of you look after Ion and get dinner ready." I blinked when I realized something. "Oh, wait... do we even have enough stuff for that?"

"I only have a little..." Tear admitted.

"No worries," Guy assured us, waving a hand with a relaxed smile. "I brought some ingredients and cooking supplies."

"Oh, good..." Luke sighed in relief.

* * *

By the time I got back to the others, my arms laden with a few stones and some suitable wood to get a fire going, the others seemed to have filled Guy in on everything.

"You've sure gotten yourself in a mess here, Luke..." Guy was saying when I had returned. Everyone was seated together. I also noticed a small pot, a knife, a ladle, some small bowls and some food ingredients on a large piece of paper were left out and placed together: ready to be used. I then noticed something else... three short metal pipes...? Two of them were curved like a turning fork at the end, while the other one appears longer than the other two and more straight. I then realized that they're probably supports for the pot so that it can be held over the fire. Guy is certainly well-prepared. Good thing, too.

Tear was the first to notice me. "Oh, good. You got back safe. Pile those together over there, would you?"

"Sure," I said, bending down next to the cooking utensils and dropping my collected pile of firewood down.

"By the way, who are you?" Ion asked politely, sounding sheepish. I started to place stones all around the pile of wood in the meantime while listening to their conversation with one ear.

"Oh!" I heard Guy exclaim. I turned to see him slapping a palm to his forehead lightly before standing up from his place on the ground. "Right. I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?"

He pointed a thumb to his chest, smiling at all of us. "I'm Guy. I'm a servant in Duke Fabre's manor."

Ion stood up at that, walking over to Guy and holding his hand out with a smile. They shook hands. "I'm Ion, the Fon Master of the Church of Lorelei."

Ion then stepped back, and Jade took his position. He held out his right hand and Guy shook it as well. "Colonel Jade Curtiss of the Malkuth Empire."

"I figured that you were from the army with your uniform," Guy remarked as Jade released his hold and walked away.

"My name is Tear," Tear introduced herself, walking towards Guy with her hand held out. "It's nice to mee-"

"_Aaaah!"_

She suddenly stopped mid sentence when Guy let out a startled yell and jumped away: his hands held up in a defensive manner and his eyes wide with terror. He was clearly trembling all over.

My eyebrows flew up at that. Ion looked startled, while Jade merely observed the scene casually in a calm manner. I could see Tear since she has her back to me, but she probably has a dumbfolded look on her face. Luke remained on his back on the ground, staring up at the sky with his hands behind his head as a pillow. He's either not paying attention to everyone else right now, or he's seen it all before. Both seemed likely, since Luke had not even batted an eyelash when Guy just yelled.

"...What?" Tear asked after several seconds of awkward silence. I could just imagine her (visible) eyebrow raised.

"Guy doesn't like women," Luke explained casually, still staring up at the dark sky.

At this, Jade raised an eyebrow as he looked over to Guy once more. "I'd say it looks more like a phobia."

Guy visibly swallowed, and when he spoke, his voice sounded just a bit higher. "S-Sorry... It's nothing personal... I-It's just..." he trailed off uncomfortably.

"If it helps, you don't have to think of me as a woman," Tear advised kindly, stepping towards him again. But Guy stumbled backwards (looking as if he had nearly tripped himself in the process) with his arms flailing. Goodness... seeing it on a video-screen is funny, but here now? It's kind of painful to watch.

"Tear, leave him," I called out, sighing lightly. "It's easier said than done. You're just going to make the poor guy, err, no pun intended, sorry... you're going to make him die with terror."

Tear stopped any further advances at that, and she turned her back to Guy while placing the palm of her gloved hand against her forehead: her eyes closed.

"Fine. We'll be sure to keep our distance. Will that help?" She asked Guy, sounding just a tad bit irked. Her tone and facial expression were screaming 'Is this man for real?'.

When he saw that neither Tear or I are going to jump him any time soon and the fact that he's already quite a safe distance away from us, Guy relaxed.

"Sorry..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Mieu, be a dear and set these on fire, will you?" I asked the cheagle, pointing the ladle towards the wood pile I finished placing together.

"No problem at all~!" Mieu chirped, bounding over close to my side. Leaning back and taking in a deep breath, Mieu threw his head forward and released a small stream of fire at the center of the wood pile. And just like that, we now had a bright fire going: lighting up the campsite. Placing the ladle down, I started to stand up.

"Oh, wait, no. Here, let me get that," Guy said as I heard him made his way over. "You sit back down and relax. I'll cook, if you don't mind."

Across from me, Guy leaned over and grabbed the metal supports and started to set them over the fire. "So, that little fellow over there is Mieu, right?"

"That's right!" Mieu beamed, raising a paw up. "But Master also gave me the name 'Thing'!"

I noticed Guy wince at that. "That's... nevermind." He sighed. He looked up. It took me a moment to notice that he's looking at _me_.

"And you? Sorry, I didn't get your name," Guy said, smiling. I looked away, feeling my face heat up. Damn it... why must he be even more handsome in reality?

"Sam... Samantha," I replied, looking down. I then noticed my... unappealing state of dress. "And...! Sorry that you have to... meet me like... this. I'm a mess..."

To my surprise, Guy only laughed at that. "Come on, you're apologizing for something like that? I'm sure you couldn't help it."

"Er... yeah," was the only thing I could come up with.

"Guy," Jade said as he made his way over to the fire. "I must ask. If you serve House Fabre, you must be from Kimlasca. You came looking for Luke under whose orders?"

"From Duke Fabre, Luke's father," Guy responded, turning to face the necromancer. "We knew he'd disappeared into Malkuth territory. Like I said earlier, everyone suspected it was a plot made by the Malkuthians. I went by land from Chesedonia, while Dorian General Grants crossed the sea and started searching from Kaitzur."

I heard Tear made a startled sound at that, and suddenly, Luke was right by Guy's side: grinning and looking quite excited.

"Master Van's looking for me, too?" Luke exclaimed happily.

"...My brother's here?" I heard Tear ask slowly. Guy's eyes widened at that, and he looked over to her.

"Your brother? You mean..." he suddenly stopped, frowning as he raised a hand up for silence. "Hey... does everyone hear that?" he asked quietly, his brows furrowing.

"What is it?" Tear whispered before we all kept quiet and listened together.

And then we all heard it. The sound of armor coming towards our direction.

"What...?" Luke asked quietly, his eyes widening as he stood up: reaching a hand behind his back to where his sword was.

I inhaled sharply, standing up and withdrawing my daggers. I know what this means...

"It sounds like... the Oracle Soldiers have caught up to us, I believe," I stated grimly, turning to face the direction where the noises are coming. "Get ready, everyone."

"This fast?" Luke exclaimed in disbelief as Jade summoned his lance to appear.

"Indeed... It looks like we've run out of time to chat," he remarked in a feigned sorrowful voice just as three Oracle Knights appeared in our campsite.

"There they are!" one of them shouted. Without another warning, Jade and Guy launched themselves at them with their respective weapons.

"Th-Those are people..." Luke murmured. I heard him swallow loudly.

"Luke, stay back! You know you won't be able to kill them!" Tear shouted before charging towards the fight herself: her staff out in front of her.

"I'm not going to just sit by and let everyone risk their lives alone! I promised myself that after our talk! I'm going!" I yelled before charging as well: my eyes narrowed as I picked who to fight.

"Then... then I'm fighting too! I'm not going to be left out!" I heard Luke shout from behind me. Well, good for him then.

To be truthful, I myself am still scared on the inside of killing another human again. But... I made a promise earlier to myself, and I have to keep it. For my own sake while in this world: where danger lurks at every corner, where my life can be either spared or forfeited in every battle from here on out. So... if I want to guarantee the safety of my own well-being... I _need_ to start fighting _now. _

Because it all just couldn't be helped. Because there's no other way. So cruel, yet so true.

Push thoughts of my enemies away, because that will only make me hesitate, and I can't do that again. I don't want to die just because I hesitated, just because of guilt. I'll... never see my home or my family again if I die...

So with that in mind, I won't... I can't be scared any more.

I'll fight.

"_You!_ You there, girl!" came a shout as one of the Oracle Knights tore himself away from the battle: leaving his two comrades to deal with Tear, Guy and Jade. I frowned, raising my daggers up. I could see Luke stopping at my side from the corner of my eye.

"What?" I demanded, glad that my voice remained steady. The Oracle Knight in front of us aimed his sword at me.

"It was you! You killed my brother! You killed Frey!" the Oracle Knight, whom I now recognized as the one named Weimar, roared angrily: his metallic voice filled with hate. "I won't forgive you for what you've done! For the sake of my brother, I will avenge him with your death!"

My eyes narrowed at that. He wouldn't understand. He will never understand my predicament. And of course he would care more for his deceased beloved brother than he would a random girl who killed him. Trying to explain myself to him would be futile. It won't satisfy him, I believe.

Because if you look at it from Weimar's eyes... I'm the 'bad guy' as of this moment. ...So be it, I guess. Let him think what he will if it satisfies him.

"I'm sure he and you have killed more people during your ambush on the Tartarus," I snapped. "It's a battle with us on different sides. I'm sorry your brother has to die by my hands, but it can't be helped. But know at least this..."

Without giving him another warning, I took off at a sprint towards him: my daggers out and at the ready.

_"I'm not planning on getting killed either!" _I screamed, watching him raise his sword up.

"We won't let you all get away!"

I dodged his sword by running out of the way of its range and going behind Weimar's back. Before I could plunge a dagger into his armored back or something, he quickly spun around and swiped at me: forcing me to jump back.

I noticed Luke running towards us with his sword raised in his left hand. Hearing his battle roar, Weimar turned around and raised his sword just in time to deflect Luke's own blade. At the back of my mind, I thought that it was unfair that we're going two-on-one on him, but I shoved it to the back of my mind.

No. I won't think of it. It won't help me at all. But I better just finish this quickly, then.

As Weimar pushed Luke back with his sword, I ran towards him and plunged one of my daggers into his back hard enough to penetrate his armor. Weimar let out a short yell of pain, and I have to duck down to avoid getting elbowed in the face. Reaching up to grab onto his wrist as tightly as I could, I pulled myself up before driving a knee up to his side (ignoring the pain as I did so) before following it up by striking him in the face with the hilt of my other dagger.

I then felt extreme pain in my stomach when Weimar delivered a knee of his own and knocking the wind out of me. Letting out a cough, I let go of his wrist before kneeling over in pain. Dammit, that hurts!

As I tried to get air back into my lungs, I noticed the soldier raising his sword to bring it down upon me before suddenly stumbling over to the side as Luke drove his shoulder into the man to push him away from me.

Gulping in air and taking in a deep breath, I slowly stood up to see Luke slashing diagonally down on Weimar's torso before quickly reversing the strike back upwards to finish it with a powerful vertical uppercut movement. I recognized that move to be Luke's Fang Blade attack.

Hm? Where's my other dagger?

My internal question was quickly answered when I noticed that Weimar, after stumbling several steps backwards, had his free hand behind his back, while blocking and fighting Luke back with just one arm- ah... is my dagger stuck in his back? That's... good for us.

It was good for us indeed, especially since Luke was able to get some attacks in before Weimar was finally able to yank my dagger free from his back and hurling it away. Having gotten rid of the distraction, Weimar was now able to fight back more effortlessly against Luke.

Running over to where my dagger had landed on the ground where Weimar had thrown it, I stood up and looked over to see how the others are fairing... just in time to see deliver a quick accurate thrust onto a fallen Oracle Knight and ending his life.

I grimaced, looking over to see Guy still fighting against his own opponent. Just then, a spiral of dark violet with lavender bubbles surrounded the Oracle Knight, making him stumble and fall to his knees from Tear's Nightmare attack. Taking advantage of this, Guy thrust his sword hard into the man's armored chest until it appeared out the other side of his body: coated in red blood. Two down... one left now...

I noticed Jade looking over to where Luke and Weimar were, before holding his spear in front of him. Runes appeared beneath his feet as he prepared a fonic arte. Meanwhile, Tear started to quickly run towards where Luke was.

"O mighty explosion... _Energy Blast!"_

An large energy sphere was formed over Weimar. Just as Luke jumped back to avoid a swipe, the energy sphere exploded. The force was strong enough to throw Weimar forward and onto the ground on his stomach. I then noticed a bloody hole in his back from where I had stabbed him with my dagger.

As Weimar slowly got up on one knee, I heard Jade call out, "Luke! Finish him!"

Stepping in front of Weimar, Luke slowly raised his sword high above his head: biting his lip as his eyes strained with hesitation. Gritting his teeth, Luke brought down his sword-

-only to have Weimar knock it away with his own blade: completely out of Luke's reach.

My eyes widened as Weimar stood up and raised his sword up high as Luke stepped back, stumbled and fell onto his rear: his eyes wide in terror as he stared up the man towering over him. Holding my daggers up, I started to charge towards the two as Guy screamed at Luke to snap it out of it.

The next few seconds all seemed like a blur. It all happened so fast.

Weimar had brought his sword down. It would have lopped Luke's head off had it hit its intended target.

Except only that Tear, from seemingly out of nowhere, threw herself right in front of Luke and the blade struck her right in the back instead. For the first time since I met her earlier this morning, I heard Tear let out a pained scream.

_"Damn you!"_

Suddenly angry now, and focusing all my attention of him, I practically threw my entire weight onto him as I barrelled Weimar to his back on the ground with me on top of him. Just like what had happened with me and his brother earlier, except the roles where reversed now.

Not wasting any time, my mind working quickly, I sat up with my back arched and held my daggers high above my head.

I spared only a glance to Weimar's face in his helmet through his visor. He looked back up at me with anger just as I said my final words to him.

"I'm sorry."

I plunged both of my daggers down.

And just like that... it's over.

* * *

"Tear... is she alright?" Mieu asked sorrowfully from his place behind the bushes and where the camp was. I let out a breath, looking down at the younger girl laying unconscious on her stomach on the ground in front of me: her uniform taken down to her waist courtesy of me.

"She'll be fine, I believe. She's strong," I said, taking care to keep my voice steady as I gently applied another Apple Gel upon the red gash on her back.

Tear had fallen unconscious after Weimar's slash to her back. His blade cut through the fabric of her dress and the flesh beneath it: making it bleed. Luke had been stammering incoherently to her unconscious form, so Guy quickly went to comfort him.

It's hard to apply medical aid to Tear's back with her uniform on, so I told Jade to carry her behind the bushes so that I can treat her out of everyone's sight. Luke couldn't do it for obvious reasons, Guy can't touch her because of his phobia, and Ion and I did not have enough muscle for it. Jade did not make a teasing remark, so I was glad for that.

After practically ordering the men not to look, I started to try and pull Tear's uniform down so that I can get to work, with all the stuff I may need on the ground next to me. It was tricky at first, but I eventually found a way to pull Tear's dress down to her waist. Now that her wound (and her white bra, but I'm not too interested in that) is out in the open, I first took the task of wiping the blood and cleaning her back with a wet cloth.

When I was doing that, Jade had taken Luke to go help him with dumping the dead bodies of the three Oracle Knights elsewhere, saying that the scent of blood and death will attract the more carnivorous monsters to our camp if they were left alone. Yeah, good idea, I believe.

Guy was over the cooking pot and preparing dinner for everyone. Ion was sitting nearby with his arms around his knees as he stared into the bright fire, and Mieu was resting against his side, occasionally calling out to me and asking over and over if Tear's going to be fine.

Night had completely set over now, and we only have our campfire to light up the area around us. Luna (Auldrant's moon), as Ion had casually called 'her' ("Luna's out now. She's as lovely as ever," he had commented), hung high up in the dark, black sky. The sky was also blanketed with several tiny stars... what a sight.

Finished applying the gel, I picked up a roll of tape bandages, given to me by Guy (actually, he just gave me permission to take it from his bag since he can't hand it to me) and tore a long one out. As the only other female in the group, I feel that it's my responsibility to take care of Tear for this moment. Plus, I'm sure Tear values her decency as a woman, so all the more reason why I should be the one to do it instead of one of the guys.

"There..." I whispered to Tear's form as I lightly taped her wound closed. "All done."

As if my voice woke her up, Tear stirred a bit. "Mm..."

"Tear...?" I asked quietly, leaning over to take a look at her face. Her visible eye that was not hidden behind her bangs slowly fluttered open to reveal to me a blue pupil.

"S-Samantha..." she asked tiredly, placing her hands against the ground and attempting to push herself up. I quickly placed a hand on her upper back and gently pushed her back down on the thin blanket underneath her.

"Hey, hey, hey... take it easy," I told her, frowning. "You got cut up by that Oracle Soldier in Luke's place, remember? Don't push yourself."

"Ah... I remember now," she remarked, closing her eyes with a quiet sigh.

"Jesus Christ, you scared the hell out of Luke. Don't do something dangerous like that again, okay? I almost got a heart-attack," I said, feeling the corners of my lip twitch. "Well, at least you're okay now. I just treated your wound, so be a little more careful in moving around for a while, alright?"

Tear shook her head. "You shouldn't have done that. I could heal it myself when I woke back up."

I frowned, tapping her on the shoulder a few times. "Hey, I just did you a good deed. Are you going to let it go unappreciated when I helped out of the goodness of my heart?"

"No, I suppose not," Tear smiled, chuckling slightly. "...By the way... I noticed you say them often."

"What?"

"You tend to say things like... 'Jesus Christ' and 'Oh my God' often. Though... more of the latter," Tear noted, and I felt my heart skip a beat as my eyes widened. Oh shit. I completely forgot about those!

"...I just got that from a friend who says it often, so it kind of got stuck on me, I guess," I lied, shrugging and forcing myself to calm down. "As for the 'Oh my God' part... ah... I always see Lorelei as a God more, so... it kinda fits to me, I believe."

"...You don't believe in Yulia Jue?" Tear asked, sounding like a mix between curious and disbelief. I shook my head, starting to pack everything back up into my satchel.

"No, it's not like that. I know Yulia exists. But..." I stopped for a quick second, looking for what could pass of as a plausible explanation. "...but I... don't... I _never_ followed her Score, so... yeah... I look up to Lorelei more, you could say."

There. That sounded good... at least to me.

"You don't follow the Score?" Two voices asked me simultaneously. One was Tear, and the other was Ion, who was actually listening in on us.

I smiled slightly. It really must sound like something unbelievable to those who are part of the Order of Lorelei.

"I don't like the idea of being completely dependable or something, or having my actions controlled," I informed them. Well, that was the truth at the least. I frowned again, thinking about my next truthful words. "I want... I want to live my own life the way I want it. Not because of what someone... or something else tells me to do."

"Oh, is that so?" Ion asked, smiling. "Well, if that's your choice, then I have no right to force you to do otherwise."

"To each their own, I suppose," Tear murmured thoughtfully. "...Also, excuse me for asking, but are you alright?"

"Huh?" I asked, zipping up my satchel after putting everything back in it. "What do you mean?"

"Will you be alright with us? Killing other people must be a strain on you," she clarified. "You and Luke are normal civilians, so it might have been painful that you would cry for others' lost lives."

I grimaced at that. "You saw that...?"

"We all did," she confirmed, turning so that she could look up at me with her clear gaze. "If everything proves to be too difficult for you, you could hide behind us when we fight, only stepping in when you need to. We will not force you to fight."

"No," I stated sternly, narrowing my eyes at her. "I get it now. I've thought about it for a while, and I remembered some things important ever since I killed that man back at the Tartarus, and... before killing his brother just now."

I exhaled once through my nose. "Tear, don't... please don't treat me like that. I understand now. I get what I have to do to survive, and to keep on surviving if I want to continue travelling with you guys. Yes... I will admit that my heart aches when I kill those two men... but I know now what I should do when it comes to fighting human in general."

I poked the ground with my pointer finger a few times. "I'm sorry, for crying and making you guys worry. But I assure you it's only because of the guilt that came with having my first human kill, and the painful thoughts that came with it. Like you said..." I forced on a smile. "...I'm... just a civilian. I'm not born or trained a fighter. So you can't honestly look down at me for shedding some tears, will you?"

"No one in this group is looking down at anyone, I assure you that," Tear stated assertively.

"Yeah, maybe..." I murmured, shrugging. "But Tear... I know now. I know what I'm getting myself into now that I've experienced it firsthand. I've already prepared myself both mentally and emotionally for what's to come. You don't have to worry for my sake anymore. I'll fight. I'll fight right next you you guys." I put on a smirk. "And if you don't want me to... then that's too bad. I'll fight anyway, whether you like it or not. I'm not going to be just a heavy luggage for you to carry around."

Tear chuckled at that, smiling as she closed her eyes. "I see. That's good to hear. Then if you truly believe that, then I will not hold you back behind me. I'm relieved, honestly." She opened her eyes again. "Now are you finished, Samantha? I wish to get dressed."

"Yeah," I confirmed, picking up a napkin and wiping my hands with it. As I stood up, I Jade and Luke had just returned, talking quietly to each other about something.

"Master! Tear's awake now!" Mieu cried out happily from where he was. Luke's eyes widened at that.

"Really?" He turned to make his way over to where we were.

"_Ahdatdatdatdat! Waaiit~!_" I yelled, pointing a finger at him and holding my free arm out to block any possible view of Tear in her bra to the red-head. "You stay _right there_, young man!"

Luke reeled back slightly at that, but looked angry. "What, why?" he demanded loudly.

"Luke. I'm changing. Please wait a moment," Tear called out to him in a calmer voice as she slipped her dress back up her neck. I smirked when I saw Luke's face turning a bright shade of red at that.

"O-Oh..."

"Anyway, dinner's up, everybody!" Guy informed all of us jovially, tapping the ladle against the pot lightly. I stepped out of the bushes with my satchel over one shoulder: still wiping my hands with the napkin.

"What is it?" Ion asked curiously, making his way over to the pot and leaning over it slightly to take a peek inside it. Guy handed him a bowl with a spoon inside of it.

"Potato stew, hope you all don't mind," Guy said, pouring some of it into Ion's bowl with his ladle before pouring some into his own bowl as well. They both then stepped away to take a seat as Luke and Jade took their turns.

"Not at all," Tear said as she stepped out of the bushes, now fully dressed again. "We appreciate anything you could make for us."

With that, all of us including Mieu were surrounding the fireplace: eating and conversing with one another. Eventually, after a few minutes of casual conversation among us all, the conversation turned to the subject of night watch.

"So, after this, it's time for a rest," I said, stirring the spoon in my bowl: watching the ingredients in it move. "We need to take turns watching the camp, do we? I call first watch."

The reason I wanted the first watch is that so when I'm done with my shift, I wouldn't have to worry about being awoken in the middle of the night. I could sleep until morning with any disturbances.

"Very well. In that case, I take the second watch," Jade said, looking into the fireplace. The flickering of the flames were reflected against his glasses as he thought. "Tear, you're injured, so it's best that you have all the rest you can."

"I'll be fine, Colonel," she insisted, but Jade shook his head.

"No. We need you to be able to operate at one hundred percent by morning, especially since you're our main healer. Get all the sleep you can."

"He has a point, you know," Guy piped up, raising his spoon at her. "Leave the rest to us, alright? I'm sure you worked hard enough for today."

Tear still didn't like the idea, but stepped down with a sigh nonetheless. Guy continued speaking. "So, after Jade, it will be me, then Luke."

"I have to work, too?" Luke complained, glaring at his bowl. "I'm too tired. I just want a break already."

"Then it's best if the young master tucks himself into bed early then, correct?" Jade spoke in a teasing voice.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Luke ordered indignantly.

"But I am only looking out for your best interest," Jade shrugged, smiling. "It will only mean bad news for us if we returned you to His Majesty of Kimlasca half-dead from being so ill-treated."

"Argh!" the young noble violently ruffled his hair with one hand. "If you keep acting like that, I might as well pop a blood vessel since you're pissing me off so much! I won't stay healthy with you around, anyway!"

"Now, now, Luke..." Jade calmed the boy with a sickeningly sweet voice. "Is it really my fault that you have such a nasty temper?"

"Lay off him, Jade," Guy advised, sighing.

"Um, what about me?" Ion asked, raising a hand.

"Oh. No, Fon Master," Tear said, shaking her head. "We couldn't ask you to help with night watch. You can relax."

"But-"

"Just go ahead and rest, Ion," I interjected, giving him a smile. "Just leave it to us, okay? Besides, you're not really in top shape, so it's best if you rest as much as you can."

"What about me?" the cheagle of our group asked as he munched on a batch of cabbage.

"You too, Mieu. You can just sleep."

"I don't think Thing could even last his own against a monster if we get attacked during the night anyway," Luke huffed.

"Luke! As Mieu's master, you need to treat him with more love and care!" Tear scolded him. "Can you give him that, or you really have no idea to do that either?"

"Ugh, I so can!" Luke shot back, placing his bowl down to one side and reaching a hand down to Mieu and grudgingly petting him on the head. Mieu closed his eyes in content before falling over onto his back. Rolling his eyes, Luke then switched to tickling Mieu in the belly, which made the cheagle to move his paws around in an adorable manner.

Tear set her lips into a thin line as she watched the scene with... envy?

"See?" Luke scoffed, looking over to her. "Are you _happy_ now?"

"D-Don't overdo it either!" she suddenly snapped, blushing furiously as Luke accidentally fell over. Mieu and the rest of the guys looked shocked and surprised (though Jade only looked mildly amused) at the outburst. I just laughed: Tear and her love for cute things is just too much.

Being with this party is sure going to be a load full of fun.

* * *

Letting out a quiet sigh, I stepped out of the bushes and towards to the very front of the camp site. I had just cleaned my daggers and myself the best I could with some spare cloth, since I rarely got the time to do so until now. We all were just on the move doing this and that.

At the very least, I got all the blood out from my hands and skin, as well as some fresh blood on my clothes. However, other than that, the blood from Frey and the griffin had already dried on my top and on some parts of my pants, so I couldn't get them out. And I can't ask for someone's canteen.. I don't know how long it is until we reach Saint Binah, but it's best to save as much as our water as possible.

Hahh... Saint Binah... I just can't wait for a shower. Oh, and the chance to wash my clothes too.

Finding a good spot away from the camp site to start the first watch. My daggers are in the pockets of my camouflage pants, their weight comforting to me. Monsters should be easier to handle than humans... so I like to believe that I'll be fine while everyone else is asleep.

Guy was cleaning up all the kitchen utensils, and Mieu, Ion and Tear had already fallen asleep the last time I checked.

Luke was trying to sleep as well. Keyword on 'trying'. He was lying on his back with his eyes closed, but he kept shifting around to find a comfortable position to lull him to sleep. Despite this though, it appears that he wants us to believe that he really was sleeping, since he stayed completely still when either Guy or Jade tried to get his attention. In the end, we decided to leave him to his thoughts. The poor kid had a long day, and he already talked as much as he had wanted with everyone in the group. I also saw him writing in a book, which is probably his diary, for a long while before deciding to go to sleep.

I sighed at that, looking at the plains spread out in front of me. It was then I heard footsteps coming up behind me. It must be Jade, since Guy's still busy when I had just looked.

"Well, good evening, Samantha."

Hmhmm. So it _is_ Jade.

"Evening, Jade," I responded back, turning to look at him over my shoulder as he walked over to my side. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much. Just wanted to engage in casual chit-chat before taking a break," he answered lightly, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I talked to Tear."

I turned my gaze back out to the plains. "...Yeah? What about that?"

"Have you really accepted the idea of killing another human being?" he asked seriously. I could feel his gaze on me. "Will you really feel no remorse for any more killings you may perform from this point on?"

I inhaled slowly before letting it out. "Like I told Tear... I don't want to be a burden, so I'll fight. If you're asking me the question if I _can _fight, if I _will_ fight... then the answer's 'yes'." I placed a hand on the opposite arm. "As for the feeling no remorse for killing thing... Honestly? No. I know I'll still feel bad, still feel guilty inside for taking the life of another person's family member. But..." I bit my lip. "...But I won't let it affect my performance in battle. You can find relief in that, I'm sure."

"If that is really the case, then I will have absolutely no problems with that," Jade said. "However, I also do ask that you learn how to fight more efficiently if you wish to survive longer."

"I'm working on that, Jade," I replied, feeling a bit irked. I don't need to be reminded of my poor fighting skills. It's insulting, even if it's true. I suddenly got an idea. "If you're that worried, then maybe you can help train me?"

"Train you?" Jade repeated in amusement, bringing two fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't. Since you fight using daggers, it would mean a lot of movement from me if I were to teach you. My age is catching up to me, you see... I would run out of breath by trying to match up with your youthful speed and stamina."

I felt one of my eyebrows twitch at that. "Jade..." I drawled. "...you're just being lazy, aren't you?"

"Why, I can't believe you would think I'm lazy!" Jade chuckled. "Samantha, I assure you... my inability to move around too much for too long is not. At. All my voluntary choice. Also, I think I would tear at something inside of me. It is completely hazardous for my well-being, you know."

I pressed my fingers against my temples at that, closing my eyes. "Gee, thanks, Jade," I muttered sarcastically. "That sure was a lot of help..."

"Speaking of which..." I felt him rap his knuckles firmly against the top of my head. Curse his height!

"Ow... Jade-!"

"You're a naughty girl... stealing those daggers from my ship, before the Tartarus even got attacked."

I froze at that, and he continued. His tone was now half-serious. "Now, may I ask why you did that? Are you hiding something from us, Samantha?"

Oh, good lord... does he think I'm a thief now? ...Well, technically I am when I stole those daggers, but he now probably believed I'm a thief before I even met Ion!

"I already told you my story, didn't I?" I told him, making sure to sound annoyed as well. "I got mugged by a bandit. I have nothing on me except Luke's wooden sword which, I remind you, gives me little to no help. I just needed a weapon until I can get another one, just in case. I _was _going to return them to you later."

"Is that so?" Jade asked, leaning forward. I took several steps back away from him as he shrugged and straightened up again. "However, in the meantime, I would expect you to pay me back in some way for compensation."

"Jade-" I started to protest, but he quickly went on.

"Perhaps you can cover me from the enemies as I charge up my fonic artes?" He smirked at me coyly. "Or, perhaps even be my personal shield. I think it's an honorable thing to do: protecting your elders at the cost of your own body."

"You want me to take hits in your place?" I blanched, shaking my head quickly. "No! I'll end up dying if I do that all the time!"

"Oh, I'm not asking you to do it all the time. Just the time you took when using those daggers," Jade corrected me in a feigned innocent voice.

I grimaced. "...Maybe. We'll see," was all I said in the end. Mainly just to shut him up.

"I'm glad we could have this conversation," he chirped. "Now, I'll retire for now until it's my turn to take watch. Have a good night, Samantha."

"Night..." I mumbled as Jade walked back to the campsite. Honestly... that man...

Only a minute has passed before I heard footsteps coming up behind me again. I sighed, "What now, Jade?"

"Wrong person."

Feeling my face heat up, I turned around and then looked up slightly to see Guy's smiling face. I also noticed that he's standing a good distance away from me. Despite the fact that I was aware of his phobia, I couldn't help but feel a bit insulted still. Probably because I like him as the person he is.

"Oh, sorry, Guy!" I said quickly, ignoring the screams of my inner fangirl within me. "I... I thought..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Guy said reassuringly, waving a hand. "Just wanted to see if you'll be fine on your own while we're all asleep. You sure you don't need one of the men awake in case?"

I smiled at that, shaking my head. Oh, he's such a nice man, really. "No, I'm fine. You go ahead and take some rest, Guy. You probably did a lot of walking today."

"It's really not that of a big deal," he said, looking off towards the plains in the distance. "It's worth it. To see Luke still alive, and especially with all of his memories still intact. He told you about that, didn't he?"

"Mm, yeah," I responded, nodding. I smiled slightly. "You're really worried about him, huh?"

"He may be spoiled and loud, but he's a good person deep down, really," Guy looked back at me. "Don't let anything negative he says to you personally... he's just always like that."

I'll take that as a 'yes' then.

"And I have to thank you for looking after him till now," he added.

I raised my eyebrows at that. "Tear was the one who looked after him. I only met him just this morning."

"But you helped too," Guy pointed out. He suddenly chuckled. "I don't know what he'll do if he's left alone. Considering this is Malkuth territory, he would have a lot of enemies just because..." he paused for just a moment, looking away with his eyes narrowed.

"...Just because of who his father is," he muttered slowly.

Knowing the topic of Luke's father is a touchy topic for him, I quickly searched for another conversation topic to talk about.

"Um... what about his mother?" I asked a bit nervously. "What is she like?"

Bingo. Guy's eyes lightened up again.

"Ah, his mother, Lady Suzanne. That woman's one of the most kind-hearted and selfless person you could know," he chuckled, turning to face me again. "She knows all of the servants and guards in the Fabre household by name, and she's pretty friendly with just about everyone." He sighed. "She's pretty frail, though. But she's always thinking of other people. I wouldn't work for another woman as a servant."

I smiled at that. "She sounds really sweet. I would really like to see her."

"Maybe..." He tilted his head slightly in thought. "You're going to come with us all the way to Baticul?"

"Yeah," I confirmed, nodding once. "I'm staying with you guys. I can't leave you now, especially since I'm already knee-length deep in. I feel like it's the right thing to do."

"Glad to hear it, then," he smiled. "Because I wouldn't mind getting to know you better, Sam."

Hnnngh... damn Guy and his natural charms! ...Hey, wait a minute...

"Did you just call me 'Sam'?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. Guy's eyes widened at that, and he brought his hands up.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it! It just slipped out because it's easier to say! Sorry if I offended you-"

"Guy," I cut in, holding a hand up with a smile. "I don't mind, really. I'm just surprised, is all. Everyone else here just called me Samantha, so I got used to it."

Besides... Guy's real name is Gailardia anyway, so in a way, we're even.

He relaxed at that, bringing his hands back down. "Really?"

"Really really."

"Well, if you say you don't mind..." Guy shrugged amicably. "Well, I'm going to get some rest now. Keep up the good work, alright? Goodnight then."

"Sure. Night Guy."

* * *

**End of the chapteeeer~! 8D**

**Personally, this is my favorite out of all the chapters so far.**

**Pleeeease make my work and effort feel like it's worth it by leaving a review when you've read this far! Come on. If you have time to put this story on your Favs and on alert, as well as READ the ENTIRE thing (which I'm sure takes more time than writing a review) ****then how could you be unable to leave even a short review? D: Don't be lazy now! I did my part of the work, so you all should do yours as well! XDDDD**

**Don't be shy in reviewing, even if you feel like you're late! Reviews make me happy and warm and fuzzy inside, no matter when it is submitted! :DD**

**Now!**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Welcome to Saint Binah!**

**Ciao, ciao~!**


	10. Welcome to Saint Binah!

**Here's~ Chapter 10! Look! FitA's first two-digit chapter number! 8D**

**Lol, sorry. Just kidding around. XD**

**Recommend Reading: "The Origins of the Gremlin" by Umi no Kanshisha. It's a cute brotherly one-shot story between Luke and Guy. This one-shot inspired me to write a scene between Guy and Luke that will appear in this chapter. :D**

**It's almost 2 am over here when I posted thi~s! o_o So excuse me if there are any mistakes. I will re-check this chapter again when I'm not feeling so sleepy like I am now.**

* * *

**Welcome to Saint Binah!**

"It's time to get going," Tear was saying as everyone finished packing up and making sure nothing would be left behind.

It was early in the morning when I got woken up by Tear. Dawn, to be specific. I could distinctively hear birds chirping elsewhere, and the sun's not even fully up yet. The cloudless sky was a very pale blue in color, and it wouldn't be long until the sun rises. All of us had already had a simple breakfast which consisted of some sandwiches made by Guy and me. Guy had been making some, so I offered a hand to help so that we would have more sandwiches for everyone to have, especially since there were seven of us, and one sandwich is not entirely filling for our stomachs.

Once we have finished eating, we're now more than ready to start the day by going on a long trek towards the Citadel: Saint Binah. Fun.

"Tear, are you alright to be moving around?" Luke asked, shoving his pencil and diary (his only forms of possession besides his sword) into a pocket within his white coat. Ah, so that's where he puts them

Tear looked a bit surprised that Luke was worried about her, but regained her composure. "…Yes." She gave him a small smile. "Thank you for your concern."

"We need to have a battle strategy," Jade stated. "Tear, Samantha, Guy and I will take up a square position. Luke." he stared at the young noble. "You'll stay in the center with Ion and defend yourself if necessary." He nodded to the rest of us. "Now, let us move on."

He turned around and started to walk away with the rest of us in tow: missing Luke's look of surprise.

"What?" Luke asked in disbelief.

Guy turned to look at him. "In other words, you don't have to fight, Luke." He turned his head so that he's facing ahead again. "Come on. Let's get going."

"W-Wait a minute!" Luke shouted loudly, making all of us to stop walking and turn to face him. His hands were clenched tightly by his sides as he looked down: his jaw clenched.

"What is it?" Ion asked kindly.

Luke remained in that position for a few more seconds, clearly thinking about his decision. Finally, he looked up at all of us, bringing a clenched fist up and looking down at it.

"…I'll fight too," he stated.

"Aren't you afraid of killing?" Jade asked.

Luke faltered a bit at that. "…Of course not!" he responded, but his voice had wavered slightly.

Catching that as well, Tear shook her head. "You shouldn't force yourself, Luke."

"I'm serious!" Luke declared, At our unconvinced looks though, he faltered again and looked down, sighing.

"I mean, okay, yeah, I'm a little scared but…" His brows furrowed, and… did he look like he's about to cry?

"If I have to fight to survive, then that's what I'll do." His head remained bow as he gritted his teeth. "I'm not gonna hide in the corner!"

"I'm so proud of you, Master!" Mieu cheered, running around Luke's feet.

One of his legs suddenly lashed out and kicked Mieu away. "Would you shut up?" Luke snapped at the cheagle, now looking irked instead of sad.

_"Mieuuu…"_

Luke shook his head, as if clearing away any remaining doubts and hesitation before glaring up at all of us. "Anyway, I've made up my mind. From now on, I fight. Without hesitation."

Tear made her way right up to Luke's face, who leaned back slightly to put some space in between them. He looked quite uncomfortable at their close proximity.

"…To kill someone means to rob them of their future. Even if it is to protect yourself," she reminded him slowly. Probably so that her words could soak into his mind and not just fly in one ear and out the other.

"…And it could earn you the hatred of others," Guy added grimly, looking away with the palm of his hand pressed against his temple in thought.

"They're friends and family members of other people too, so you're not taking away something that belonged to just that one person you kill," I murmured, crossing my arms and looking away. "You'll also be robbing a family of a beloved relative. Their death will always be in your hands, even if you want to forget."

"Are you prepared to deal with that?" Tear asked, leaning even closer to Luke's face, who finally chose that moment to take several steps backwards. "Can you face that responsibility? Without running away? Without making excuses?"

Luke took in a deep breath, looking away from Tear's piercing gaze. "You said yourself, you aren't killing people because you want to."

There was a few minutes of silence as Luke thought about what he should do. After a while, he looked over to all of us: his gaze hard and determined.

"…I've made up my mind," he said, now sounding more confident this time. "I'm not here to be a burden. I'm gonna take responsibility, too."

"But… Tear was about to protest, but Jade spoke over her.

"I don't see any problem with that. We'll give Luke a chance to show us his resolve."

Luke did not even thank Jade for giving him a chance to prove himself. He was staring at the ground, his spiky red bangs hiding his eyes from view. I noticed his lip curling slightly as Guy walked up to his younger friend.

He placed a comforting hand on Luke's shoulder. "Just don't push yourself too hard, Luke," Guy advised him kindly, patting his shoulder.

Luke did not respond nor even look up at that. He only nodded once silently.

* * *

"Master, are you okay?" I heard Mieu ask that question from behind me. Tear, Jade and Guy were at the very front of the group, with Ion behind them, then me, and then Luke and Mieu. We all were walking down the road that would take us to Saint Binah. For the most part, we're still out in the wide plains. Up in the far distance ahead, I could vaguely see the outline of a forest.

"Are you sure the fighting isn't going to wear you down?" Mieu pressed on worriedly.

"_Shut up! _I said I'm _fine!_ If it's kill or be killed, then dammit, I'm _killing!_ End of story! _You got that?_!" Luke exploded, making me wince and for the others up ahead to turn around to see what the commotion is all about.

_"Mieuuuu..."_

"Luke..." I sighed, massaging my temples as I turned to face him with a scowl. "It's too early to be raising your voice like that. Plus, Mieu's just worried, so don't shout at him. You're giving me a headache."

"Tsk!" Luke clicked his tongue in distaste, looking away with a huff. I narrowed my eyes at him, deciding whether or not to continue pressing my point.

Fortunately, it was Ion who calmed the atmosphere down by clearing his throat a bit too loudly.

"I really do hope that Anise is alright," he remarked randomly. Both Luke and I raised our eyebrows as we turned to face Ion, who smiled at us nervously before turning around to continue walking.

However, it seemed to work, because Luke took the topic up.

"Yeah, it sounds like she fell from pretty high up..." Luke commented, sounding calmer now. I let out a quiet breath, crossing my arms as I continued walking: deciding to just listen in on the conversation.

"She'll be fine. This is _Anise _we're talking about," Jade said, his voice sounding as if he was about to laugh at an inside joke.

"That's true, isn't it?" Ion raised a hand to tap his chin with it. At least that's what it looked like from my place behind him. "I can't imagine Anise _not _being safe."

Guy let out a low whistle at that. "This 'Anise' sounds pretty incredible."

Jade laughed at that. "She's indeed a very cute and perky little girl."

Ion nodded in agreement. "Yes. She's very dependable."

"Really?" Luke asked skeptically. "She sure doesn't look it to me."

Jade shrugged from his place up ahead. "Well, as they say, you can't always judge a book by its cover."

"...Why does that sound like its pointed to me?" I heard Luke growl.

"It's just your imagination, Luke," Jade chirped.

"Was Anise really that talented when you appointed her as your guardian, Ion?" I asked conversationally.

"Ah, actually, to be truthful... I chose Anise out of several other potential guardians because she looks around my age at the time," Ion answered, sounding amused. "Though Fon Masters should have a good number of guardians by their side for their protection, I feel that just having one is enough. Having too many guardians would not only attract too much attention, but can be... a bit of a hassle."

"How long ago was that?" Guy asked.

"Two years ago," Ion responded cheerfully. "She's only a year younger than me, so that would make her eleven at the time."

"Whoa..." Luke breathed. "That's... isn't she a bit too young to have such a dangerous job?"

"I believe Anise is well aware of the risks on taking the role of a Fon Master Guardian," Tear inputted. "Don't worry. I believe she's more than capable of being in battle."

"Yes," Ion confirmed. "Tokunaga helps her."

"Who the hell is Tokunaga? Her teacher?" Luke asked. I had to hold back a snort at that.

Ion did chuckle however, though he tried to keep it gentle so as not to offend him. "No, actually-"

"Enemies!" Tear suddenly exclaimed, holding her staff up as Jade summoned his spear and Guy drawing his sword. "Up ahead! Get ready!"

Drawing my daggers, I rushed to the front of the group to see what our opponents are. There, charging towards us, are four Rhinossus and several Filifolias.

The Rhinossus' are large, purple beasts that resembles a rhino and a boar mixed together. They run on four legs, have bushy tails, and large, sharp tusks can be seen poking out from either side of their mouths. The Filifolias are these small plant-like monsters with a giant sprout and large leaves on top of their heads.

"That's... a lot," I commented, feeling a bit uneasy about this.

"Mieu... please take cover in the item bag," Tear told the cheagle as she held her staff in front of her to prepare a fonic hymn. "And Fon Master, please stay behind us."

"We can take them!" Luke said confidently. Drawing his sword from his back, he charged towards the fray with a loud battle cry. As soon as his master and friend did that, Guy sprang into action as well. Shrugging, I ran off towards the side of the monster horde so I could avoid getting surrounded by the Filifolias.

One of the four Rhinossus and three Filifolias caught sight of me and started to charge in my direction. Behind them, I saw Guy jumped right in the middle of a large group of the other Filifolias and started to jump, twist, turn and spin around effortlessly as he hacked down all of the plant-like monsters with a flowing ease. Luke was hacking away at another one of the Rhinossus of the horde, and I could hear Tear singing a fonic hymn with Jade chanting the incantations for a fonic arte in the background.

Back over to me, I need to practically jump out of the way as my own Rhinossus charged past. Deciding to take out the small fries first, I ran towards the closest Filifolias and jumped towards it so I could plunge both of me daggers down on top of its leafy head. It shrieked even louder when I pushed the daggers in further before pulling them out: sticky green fluid dripping from the blade. Nectar? I'm not sure... I just know that it can't be green blood because it's technically a plant.

As the one in front of me slumped over to the side dead, I felt something thing wrapping around my ankles. Looking down, two of the Filifolias had wrapped the leafy vines on top of their head around a different ankle.

"Go away!" I shouted down at them, lifting up one of my legs and trying to shake one off. "Just- HEY!"

That response was for yet another Filifolias had scurried over and started swatting me with its own vines. It doesn't hurt that much... but it does sting. Think of being beat up by a much lighter whip. Yeah, like that.

Using the leg I have been shaking, I kicked the third Filifolias away: sending the one that was holding on to me flying away when its vines snapped into two. Ouch, that must have hurt it.

Before I could even deal with the remaining Filifolias on my other leg, I felt a heavy impact striking me from behind: forcing me to fall forward to the ground on my stomach. I turned myself just in time to get two hooves being brought down onto my lower abdomen in a stomping motion: knocking the breath out of me and making we wince.

Forcing my upper body up, I reached one hand back and drove a dagger right into its forehead. I squeaked before jumping back, shaking its head rapidly to shake the dagger off. Still sitting up, I used my other dagger to thrust it into the body of the Filifolias near my legs. As it cried, I stabbed it several more times at a rapid pace until it finally fell to the ground with green fluid oozing out of the stab wounds all around its body.

Kicking the leafy vines around my ankles off, I stood up and ran over to the Rhinossus that was still trying to shake my dagger away from its forehead. While it was distracted, I thrust my other dagger into the hide of its body. As it squealed in pain again, I made punched it in the face right between the eyes with my free hand.

"Give-" _PUNCH _"-me back-"_ PUNCH _"-my-" _PUNCH _"-dagger!" _PUNCH!_

Grabbing the dagger stuck in its forehead with my free hand, I roughly yanked it back out along with my other one as I stepped back. Bad idea, because the Rhinossus chose that moment to run forward and tackle me in the stomach painfully with its tusks. I choked on my own breath at that, sucking in a deep lungful of air before stumbling back and resting an arm around my stomach. I threw myself to the side when it tried to tackle me again, but I made sure to kick it in the side as I ran past: making it grunt loudly in anger.

I quickly stood up and ran over to it while its about it turn around again. Because of its body shape and weight, it would have to move to the side before charging back again. Just as it was about to turn, I drove both my daggers into the top of its main body now, and sliced its skin through from top to bottom: leaving two parallel lines of blood in their wake.

The Rhinossus let out another cry of pain, falling over to the side when I roughly pushed it with my body. Not wasting any time, I quickly sat on top of it and brought one dagger right down onto its skull. Its dying cry was the loudest, and its head finally slumped down: dead at last.

Yanking my dagger back out from its skull, I turned around to see how the others were doing, but quickly yelped and had to jump out of the way as several muddy rocks were thrown towards me: courtesy of two more Filifolias that tried to attack me when my back is turned by somehow digging up small rocks along with mud from the ground with their leafy vines. How they really do that, I haven't had a clue.

Charging towards them, I kicked one of them away hard first before angrily going stab-happy on its friend until it's not moving any more. That done, I turned just in time to get slapped across the face by something green.

"Go away already!" I whined, kicking a leg out towards it again. As it tried to get back up, I knelt down in front of it before running it through with the blade of my dagger. It twitched a few more times before finally falling limp, and I sighed as I pushed it off.

"I learned something new last night! Check this out!" I heard Luke call out loudly in excitement. I turned to see him charging towards the last Rhinossus. When he got close enough, he thrust his free hand, glowing with a bright red energy, out and right in front of the monster.

"Raging Blast!"

The red energy in Luke's palm exploded right in the Rhinossus' face. The force of it was strong enough to send the beast flying back, and right into Guy's waiting blade as he cut it up while its defenses were still down. Off to the side, Jade has just killed the fourth and last Rhinossus by running it through all the way with his spear. And I say that's the last because I saw another Rhinossus on the ground and lying on its side, already dead. Though who killed that one, I don't know.

"Oh, hey! Guy, did I really get that right?" Luke grinned happily, before turning around to thrust his sword down on the Filifolias approaching him.

"Yep, you sure did, Luke!" Guy nodded, looking over to Tear as she started singing a familiar fonic hymn.

_"Tue rei zue kroa ryou tue zue…"_

"Hehe, all right!" Luke's grin grew wide as he pumped a fist up and down in front of him. Meanwhile, Tear's Nightmare attacked finished off all the remaining monsters.

I heaved a sigh as I made my way over to the rest of them, pulling out a napkin from my pocket to clean my daggers as I did so.

"Good for you, Luke," I praised.

"That was very well executed, I believe," Ion added with a smile as he reached us with Mieu in his arms. Luke, if possible, looked even happier at our compliments.

"I know, right? Me and Guy were sparring last night, and I picked up some new moves," he rubbed a finger underneath his nose as he put his sword away with his other hand. "But Raging Blast? Couldn't get it right at all until now. I've already mastered it!" He laughed boisterously.

"Well, it seems you're handling the fighting pretty well, despite your earlier mannerisms about killing," Jade noted, having already put away his spear.

Luke's brows knitted together at that, his happy smile falling. "I said I could still fight! Besides, it's just monsters. I have no problems at all when it comes to killing the-" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence at that, his face falling slightly as though he remembered something unpleasant.

He then shook his head to clear whatever thoughts he may just had and looked up again as we all started to continue on our way. He followed. "Anyway, I can handle them just fine."

"Master is such a wonderful fighter~!" Mieu praised energetically in his high and squeaky voice. The sound of the cheagle's voice made one of Luke's eyebrows twitch, and he looked over his shoulder as he walked alongside all of us.

"At least I'm doing something instead of sitting around, you useless Thing!" he barked. Mieu's ears drooped at that.

Ion placed a hand on top of Mieu's head in a comforting manner as he looked up at Luke. "Then I apologize as well for not being of any help, Luke," he said sincerely. The red-haired noble suddenly looked embarrassed at that: realizing that he had just unintentionally insulted the Fon Master as well.

"W-Well... that..." he started to stammer, clearly trying to look for something to say to that. I decided to step in.

"Don't worry, I'm still training when it comes to fighting too!" I chirped to Ion and Mieu. I showed them one of my daggers by raising it up: my eyebrows raised. "How about I fight in both of your stead? We can be a mini team in among this large group."

Ion laughed gently in response, and Mieu's ears perked back up at that as his eyes brightened.

"That would be really appreciative, Samantha. Thank you," Ion smiled after calming his chuckles down.

"A mini-team..." Luke snorted. "Suits you all so well..."

"Ehh... what is that supposed to mean, Luke?" I asked, shoving my daggers back into my pockets.

"Forget it. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask..." Luke looked over to Tear as we all continued walking down the path. "Tear, you're not a Scorer?"

"Not exactly," she replied. "Scorers are members of the Order of Lorelei who can use the Seventh Fonon. I use fonic hymns, so I'm a Melodist."

"A Melodist..." Guy brought a finger to his chin in a thoughtful pose. "Not too many of those these days, are there?"

"Not lately, no," Jade responded. "And they usually serve in a supporting role anyway."

"I like Melodists, though," Ion piped up. "There's something pleasant and soothing about their songs." He frowned slightly. "Granted, some songs are used to attack people, but-" he smiled again. "-they also sing healing songs. And I like your songs a lot, Tear... They somehow seem very nostalgic."

Tear blushed at that and she smiled at the green-haired boy. "Ah... Thank you..."

Luke stared up at the sky, crossing his arms behind his head as he did so. "Huh... well, now that you mention it, I guess she does have a good voice." He then shrugged, closing his eyes. "Shame about the personality, though..."

He suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had just sensed something. And indeed... that 'something' was in the form of a _veeery_ cold glare from Tear, which really made her look scary to look at.

Luke winced at the look, quickly turning away. "...S-Stop glaring at me..."

* * *

After what seemed like several hours of walking, our group had finally reached what seemed to be the opening to a forest path which would lead us to Saint Binah. By now, the sun was already high up overhead and shining its bright rays on the world below it.

Jade told us that we're getting close to Saint Binah, and it won't be long now until we see the town's security wall if we keep on walking.

Oh, oh. And guess what we walked into entering the forest path?

There's a welcoming committee~! They're literally _buzzing _with excitement as soon as they saw us! So much so, that most of us faltered a bit!

...That previous thought was sarcasm by the way.

Because the 'welcoming committee' that I'm talked about was actually a _small_ _swarm of giant bees_!

Needless to say... me, Luke and Guy were practically swinging our blades, dancing around to avoid getting stung and probably looking like lunatics to a third-person party while Jade easily blew some of them out of the sky with a quick Energy Blast spell. Tear was protecting Ion and Mieu so as to avoid letting them be stung by the bees' stingers. And believe it or not, Mieu's actually doing more than the three of us at the moment: blowing out balls of fire and burning one Giant Bee to a crisp after another.

It's so damn hard to try and land a hit on those Giant Bees! Even though they're bigger than normal bees, they're all fast fliers: zipping in and out as fast as lightning. And all of the buzzing noises that they have made are really grating on our nerves as well as an extra bad point aside from being unable to hit them.

I felt so sorry for Luke when he took a step back to avoid getting stung in the face by one of the Giant Bees, tripped over on a rock and fell over with a cry. Like sharks smelling blood in water, a horde of them quickly landed on him and started to stab away at the poor kid with their stingers. It was until Guy rushed in and swiped his sword at them that they all flew away from the red-head.

However, what we didn't realize at the time was that there's poison in the giant bees' stingers. It wasn't until much later _after _the battle has ended with Jade and Mieu having done all the work that we finally knew about the poison.

And that realization came in the form of Luke, having been stung several times by a good number of Giant Bees, had rushed over to a bush, knelt down before it and started to vomit into it. Guy was immediately by his friend's side: holding Luke's long, red hair back with one hand and patting his back with the other.

"Poison Bottle!" Ion cried in alarm as Jade, Tear and I all rummaged through our respective bags to search for the mentioned item. "Do we have a Poison Bottle with us?"

Poison Bottle... Poison Bottle... Poison Bottle... what color is it inside its bottle, anyway?

Let's see... red are obviously Apple Gels. Bright and dark yellows are Lemon Gels and Pineapple Gels respectively, and orange totally gives it away what kind of gel it is. ...Dammit! _Are Poison Bottles grey, or green? _I'm sure it's one of those two colors! I just don't remember which one!

Okay... think... I really believe the Poison Bottle is green. Hell, in all the games I've played, it's green! Then... what is the grey one for? Petrification? Yes, that's it! Grey is the Stone Bottle!

Now I remember! Yep, it should be green alright!

After going through my bag one more time, I finally found what I was looking for.

"Here~ it is~!" I cheered, bringing the Poison Bottle out. A liquid of a dark-green color sloshed around in the bottle as I moved it. Ion breathed a sigh of relief at that, and the other two stopped looking in their bags now that I found what we're looking for.

I made my way over to Guy's side, holding the bottle out to him. "Guy! Here, you can ta-"

_"Aaaah!"_

I was startled at Guy's sudden scream, and I blinked in surprise when he jumped back and scrambled away to put as much distance between him and me as much as possible.

"Oh for _crying out loud, Guy!" _I yelled, throwing my arms up. "_Is this really a time where you could freak out like that?"_

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized from where he was on the ground ahead of me, shaking and his green eyes wide. "It's just you came up to me so suddenly and... and you know. I really didn't mean it, but I just couldn't help myself!"

I sighed irritably at that. "Geez..."

"A-Anyway... c-can you please give that to Luke?" Guy pleaded, starting to calm down now. I heaved another sigh, kneeling nexk to Luke.

"Fine... Luke, here... take this."

Luke raised his head up to look at me weakly. Beads of sweat were dripping down all over his face from his forehead, and making his spiky red bangs stick to the flesh there. Uncorking the bottle, I started to hold it up to his lips, but he grabbed my wrist with his eyes narrowed.

"I can take it myself," he insisted stubbornly in a hoarse voice.

I exhaled quietly through my nose at that. Trying to look tough when he's poisoned, of all things. Probably so that his cool image from earlier will not be ruined or something. "Sure, sure. Take it then."

Luke took the bottle from my hand and downed the entire thing as I moved back and stood up. When he was finished drinking the entire thing, Luke stayed in his place for a while, breathing heavily. He still looked tired though.

"Let him have an Apple Gel as well. The poison probably ate away at some of his energy and stamina," Guy advised from where he was.

Complying, I opened my satchel and pulled out an Apple Gel, handing it to Luke. Taking it, Luke opened the rather unique looking and tiny glass can and popped the red gummi-like substance into his mouth to chew. Unlike the bottles that could cure someone of an ailment like the Poison Bottle from earlier, the fruity gels are not a kind of liquid but rather a gummi-like substance: almost like tiny jelly.

"Luke. How are you feeling?" Tear asked.

After swallowing the Apple Gel, Luke took in several deep breaths before finally standing up and shoving the empty bottle and can, looking a bit better as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Fine," he said finally. He then turned and walked over to where Guy was. "Come on. Let's get going already."

"Not even a thank you..." I murmured underneath my breath, rolling my eyes as I put the garbage away in my bag. Littering is a no-no for me. I'll just throw them in a dust-bin or something when we reach town.

Other than the incident with the Giant Bees, nothing else of interest happened as we all made our way towards Saint Binah. After several minutes of walking, we finally could see the outline of something large far ahead.

"We've arrived," Ion said happily when we all saw the security wall of Saint Binah further up in the distance ahead. "Now we can finally meet up with Anise!"

"They called Saint Binah the city of flowers," Guy said casually. "So not only is it considered a beautiful place, but the flowers grown around this area can be used to make effective medicine. Saint Binah is the place that has the best medicines and are their main export to the rest of the world. All the best medicines come from there."

"Uh huh, sure," Luke said distractedly, looking quite bored as he continued walking. Guy nudged the red-head slightly at that.

"You should know these kind of things, Luke. You're going to be king soon or later, so you need to be aware of the world outside of Baticul," the blond reminded.

"I'll learn everything when that day comes," Luke said airily as he waved a hand in a dismissive manner. Guy looked a tad bit disappointed at that.

"Oh, if Kimlasca's future king is like this, then the country is doomed," Jade feigned a horrified sigh. Luke looked angry at that.

"Shut up! Why do I have to learn about all these things when my uncle's still going to live much, much longer anyway?" the young noble demanded.

"It wouldn't hurt to learn everything now, Luke. You need to start learning about taking responsibilities with the future you have ahead of you," Tear scolded.

"...I just remembered something. Hey, Guy? Does Saint Binah have any good medicines for headaches?" Luke asked seriously, looking over to the blond male. Tear looked angry at this.

"_Luke!_ That wasn't nice at all!"

Luke turned back to look at her, his eyebrows raised. "What's your problem _now_? I'm asking because I just wanted to stop all of those headaches I keep getting for good!"

Tear looked surprised after hearing that, and then sheepish. "Oh... that...?"

"Oh yeah, those headaches of yours," Guy's eyes widened a bit at that. "You're right... the aren't normal, are they? None of the medicine we gave you back home works. Well, we'll check the store there and see what they have."

"They better. Those headaches of mine are _really_ annoying," Luke sighed, bringing up a hand to his head as if he's getting said headaches now. "They hurt so much at times, too..."

"I'm sure they'll have something for you, Luke," Ion reassured the red-head.

"Master being in pain... it's so sad!" Mieu said, looking down as his ears drooped. "I wish I could make them all go away!"

"Tch... I don't need your pity!" Luke scoffed, shaking his head.

"...Everyone, stop," Jade suddenly ordered, holding an arm out. We all did so, watching him squint at the town up ahead. We're still far from the entrance, but we can still vaguely see the vague blurs of some people standing in front of it.

"What's your problem? The town's just up ahead!" Luke complained.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

Jade stared at the town ahead of us for a moment longer before nodding once to himself. "I was right... there are Oracle Knights guarding the gates. Entering will not be easy for us."

"What?" Luke's eyes widened at that. "Why are the Oracle Knights there?"

Guy shook his head, looking back the way we came. "St. Binah's the closest city to the Tartarus. They probably expected us to stop there."

Jade turned to look at Guy over his shoulder, an eyebrow slightly raised. He examined Guy for a moment in thought. "For a Kimlascan, you're certainly familiar with Malkuth geography, Guy."

There was only a second's pause where one of Guy's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. "I like reading about vacation spots," he explained in a casual tone of voice.

"Oh, I see," Jade turned his head to stare at the city in front of us. The look in his red eyes showed that he still has his doubts, however. "How nice."

We heard a loud sound coming up from behind us. When we all turned to look, getting ready to fight if need to, we instead saw a wagon being led by these large... dinosaur-like things. I can't properly explain it, but 'dinosaur' was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw them.

"Sorry. Please excuse me," the man on the wagon said politely. "I'm from Engeve, and I need to fulfill a purchase order for food supplies, so if you all don't mind, I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Your wagon's kinda small though, don't you think?" Luke asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow at the wagon. Even though all of us had already moved to the side, Luke remained in the wagon's way. "Are there really that little people in St. Binah?"

"Luke!" Tear hissed.

But the man only laughed at that. "Oh no. There's another wagon like mine on the way, so don't you worry about that."

"Please excuse him," Tear said to the man quickly before pulling Luke off to the side with the rest of us.

"Hey!"

The creatures continued on their way towards the city, pulling the wagon along with them as we all watched it until it reached the entrance.

"Colonel, look," Tear said, pointing as the wagon was allowed inside the city not even a minute later.

Jade smirked, a plan having already formed in his mind as shown by the look in his eyes. "How convenient."

"We're going to stop the second wagon that he mentioned and hitch a ride, huh?" Guy asked, smiling slightly as well.

"Stow-away time," I confirmed, nodding.

"So we wait here, right? I don't think they can see us from this distance," Ion tilted his head slightly.

"Yes, indeed," Tear nodded.

"Hey, quit making plans without talking to me first!" Luke protested angrily.

Tear glared at him, placing her hands on her hips. "Grow up."

Luke growled and rolled his eyes at that. After that, we didn't have to wait long, because we soon heard the sound of another wagon approaching. This time, we all stood in the middle of the pathway, so as to avoid the wagon having any space to pass by us should they choose to ignore our favor.

"Stop the wagon!" Luke ordered loudly when the second wagon from Engeve had approached us. As soon as the wagon stopped, a plump woman from the driver's seat stood up to see what the problem was as a man next to her kept his hold on the creatures' reins.

"Colonel Curtiss!" The plump woman exclaimed in recognition and surprise. "And you're... Luke, was it?"

"...Ms. Rose?" Luke asked, faltering slightly. He then looked relieved, because he was talking to a friendly familiar face. Or... he just knows that Rose was a friendly figure. "You're the leader of Engeve... right? Is it alright for you to leave it?"

Rose was a plump middle-aged woman with short red hair and a round face. She wore a white shirt underneath a small, short-sleeved dark-pink blouse with pants of the same color. Around her waist, she wore a long, tan apron. Finally, she wore brown boots and a light-brown wrap-around cloth over her head.

Rose laughed warmly at that. "Oh, not at all. Now that the thefts around Engeve had stopped, everything is peaceful and back to normal again. And don't you worry, we'll be back at Engeve soon enough if we're on a wagon like this."

"That's good to hear," Ion said with a smile.

"Fon Master, it's good to see you again as well," Rose nodded to the young boy. "Thank you for clearing things up with the cheagles."

"Wait, how do you know about that?" Luke asked in surprise.

Rose smiled at him. "He told me before he left for Cheagle Woods. And for me to drop the message to Colonel Curtiss or Anise should they ask."

"It was because of Rose that we knew where Ion had gone," Jade informed, pushing up his glasses.

"Huh, so that's how it is..." Luke remarked. He then shook his head and looked up to Rose. "Anyway, sorry about this, but do you think you could hide us in your wagon?"

At Rose's questioning look, Guy explained the situation without giving away too much."We'd like to enter St. Binah, but a group of malcontents chasing Fon Master Ion are guarding the entrance. Could we ask for your assistance?"

Rose held a hand up to her mouth at that, surprised. "Goodness. My birthday Score didn't say anything about something like this happening."

"Please," Tear begged, stepping forward and unintentionally closer to Guy, who quickly jumped away with a startled sound. Tear ignored him, however.

Rose shrugging at that. "Okay. Why not? We owe you for the trouble we caused with all the mistaken thief nonsense and for getting to the bottom of the problem." She gestured towards the back of the wagon with a smile. "Hop in."

"Thank you," Jade inclined his head to her as we all made our way to the back.

"...Thief nonsense? Do I need to ask about that?" I asked jokingly as I hopped into the wagon first.

"Not really," Tear replied, climbing into the wagon after me. We both situated ourselves on the floor on your stomachs between two carbon boxes with barrels on top of them as the guys climbed in next with Guy last. It was packed in here, so we need to push some boxes out of the way if not squeezed in between them the best we could.

"This is... really tight," I grunted quietly, shifting as I closed my eyes.

"I... I can't fit here with you all..." Ion murmured, his voice uncomfortable.

"Argh... one of us move over to Tear and Samantha's side!" Luke hissed. "Guy?"

"Uh... I can't."

"Oh yeah, right."

"I'm okay~!"

"Of course you are, Thing. How about I stuff you in that bag of rice over there? You could easily fit in it."

"W-Wait Luke... I'm fine. I'll just... move over to the girl's side and-" _CLUNK!_ "-ah..."

"Are you alright Ion?"

"Yes, Samantha. I just... bumped my knee against this..."

"Be more careful, Fon Master."

"Thank you, Tear." I heard something shifting over in the area close to Tear and me. "Just... okay. I'm alright now."

"Is everyone ready?" Rose asked from her seat at the very front.

"Yes. Go!"

"Well, isn't this all exciting?"

"Shut up, Jade. And... and stop using me as a cushion already!"

"Oh my Gooood, that was weird," I whined, rolling my shoulder.

"I apologize for the tight space," Rose clasped her hands together.

"Oh, no worries. Everything's fine," Jade assured her.

"That's because you're the most comfortable out of all of us!" Luke snapped in one quick breath, pressing both of his hands behind his back and arching it. "Dammit, old geezer, you're heavy!"

* * *

Saint Binah is quite the beautiful little town. The ground and all of the houses were made out of bricks, and flowers can be seen everywhere no matter which side you look. If the ground is not covered with bricks, it's filled with long, lush, green, knee-length grass. For the most part, everything looked as it did in the game, except much larger. Much, much larger. The atmosphere that surrounded in the air here felt relaxing, homey and refreshing... probably thanks to all the nature this town has to offer. Casual chatter, children friendly, a dog barking, the sound of the wind blowing and the rustling of trees are the sounds that filled my ears.

What a place! I love places like this!

At the moment, we and Rose were at the market area. We have no reason to worry about the Oracle Knights now that we've entered it seems, as they are only guarding the entrance. As long as we don't cause a racket or a commotion, we're all good.

"Well," Rose clapped her hands together. "This is where we part ways."

"Thank you for your help," Ion told her with a sincere smile.

"Yes, thank you," Tear bowed a bit.

"You really got us out of a bind," I said, giving my own thanks.

"Don't mention it," Rose chuckled, waving a hand. After nodding to all of us a final time, she turned and started to walk away. "Well, take care!"

"So..." Luke looked around. "Anise is here, right?"

"She's to meet us at the Malkuth military base," Jade stated. "If she's still alive, that is."

"She is," I said firmly, nodding once. "She definitely is alive, I can feel it."

"Seriously, do you really have to say things like that?" Luke demanded of Jade. He then huffed, flicking his head to one side. "Let's go."

"Try not to do anything to draw the attention of the Oracle Knights," Tear reminded all of us.

"I know, I know," Luke groaned, rolling his eyes skywards. "You don't have to tell me every little thing."

Guy raised an eyebrow as he looked in between the two. "Hmm? She's already got you whipped, huh, Luke?" He then laughed. "Princess Natalia's going to be jealous. _...Uaaah!"_

That last part was the sound that Guy had made when Tear embraced his arm and rested her head on it. If anyone didn't know any better, they would think that she's Guy's lover with her position against him now.

"Don't say stupid things," Tear ordered in a 'don't mess with me' kind of tone, which is a huge contrast to the innocent picture of her merely hugging the arm of a male friend.

Guy was trembling so violently it's not even funny. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Stop touching me! Please!"

Deciding that Guy has learnt his lesson, Tear let go of him as he fell to the ground, still trembling as she dusted off her hands with her eyes shut.

I pointed to Guy while giving Tear a dry look. "Okay, I know you mean well... but I call _that _sexual harassment."

Tear's eyes snapped open at that. "I-It is not!"

"Tear's forcing herself on an unwilling man without his permission!" I declared in a light voice, taking care of not to raise my voice _too _high or else I'll attract attention (though people are already staring and wondering why a man is having a spasm attack on the ground) to us. "Tear's a sexual harasser~!"

"That is not...! I am not...!" Tear tried to stammer out her protest, her face red.

"I-It's fine... really..." Guy reassured us in a shaky voice as he slowly got up. He had noticed that we're already getting some looks. That, or maybe he feels sorry for Tear.

"Heheh," I smirked teasingly. "We're already getting looks. Awesome. Good example you set there, Tear. I mean, I know Guy's cute, but _do please_ control yourself."

Tear's face is now a complete scarlet at that, and Luke laughed. "Owned."

"Now, now, children, play nice," Jade told us all, smirking while poor Ion looked like he had no idea what to do.

I held my hands up. "Alright, alright... Sorry... for teasing you only, Tear."

Even though I don't like a woman forcing herself on Guy and taking advantage of his phobia. Had their genders been reversed, then I'm sure people would have been pissed if a man's forcing himself on an androphobic female. Just because Guy's a male means that it's okay. His fear is still a fear, and Tear's still taking advantage of that even though she knows of his phobia.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm just sensitive to Guy's feelings. Maybe I _am _being too serious. But that's my own opinion, and I really don't like what just happened with him.

"No hard feelings, right?" I added.

"Look at it this way," Ion piped up. "Perhaps this journey will help Guy to overcome his phobia."

"Hopefully..." I commented.

"Uh, excuse me!" came a very young voice from behind us.

Blinking, I turned to see a young pre-teen boy with short blond hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt with blue sleeves and collar along with cargo shorts and sneakers.

"Sorry, but you're travellers, right?" the boy asked, looking up at us.

"...We are," I answered after a moment of pause among all of us. What did he want?

The boy's eyes lighted up at that. "So that must mean you're gone to a lot of places, huh? Tell me, do you know a soldier called the Necromancer?"

"Why yes," Jade answered, stepping forward and next to me after another moment's pause. He looked down at the short boy. "Yes I do."

The boy looked extremely happy to hear that. His eyes lighted up as he stared up at Jade with awe. "My great grandfather said the Necromancer's doing experiments to bring dead people back to life," he said.

"What...?" Luke asked, coming up to my other side.

The boy looked down, looking sad for a moment before looking back up at Jade with an innocent frown. "Next time you see him, could you ask him a favor for me? Kimlascans killed my Dad... so I was wondering if the Necromancer could bring my Dad back from the dead."

I looked up at Jade to see his reaction. He was frowning intensely, a rare look for him as he stared down at the boy with clouded eyes, as if he's not really looking at him. As if he's thinking about things he doesn't want to think abou-

...Oh. _Oh. _Nebilim...

"I see," Jade said after yet another moment of pause. "...I'll pass on that message."

"Really?" The boy's face became extremely happy again as his smile seemed to radiate like Rem, Auldrant's Sun.

"You promised, okay?" The boy pointed at Jade, still smiling widely. "Thanks!"

With that, the boy ran off further into the town: now looking as if nothing in the world could bring him down.

"You're amazing, Colonel!" Mieu exclaimed in awe after the boy has left.

"Don't be stupid," Luke scolded the cheagle, blowing some hair out of his face. He turned to face Jade. "It's just a rumor people started, right?"

Guy brought a hand up to his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah. If it were true, I'd have a few favors to ask him myself."

"Did you lose someone close to you?" Tear asked quietly, holding a hand to her chest.

"My family and everyone in my household..." Guy shrugged, looking away.

...Dammit, Guy. Be careful with what you wish for. The image of Mary's replica flashed before my eyes. It's just going to be painful for him...

"Well, you know how things are these days. It happens to a lot of people," Guy continued. "Your parents aren't around either, right Tear? Van told me."

Tear seemed to flinch at that. Whether it's at the mention of her deceased parents or her brother, I'm not sure. "R-Right..."

Jade was staring off at something in the distance. "...You know what they say. Where there's smoke, there's fire..."

"What...?" Ion asked.

Jade placed a hand over his face. "Nothing."

"...Hey," I said. When everyone turned to look at me, I placed a hand on an arm.

"You don't need me to come with you guys to the Malkuth military base, right?" I spoke. "And since we can't get out without the Oracle Knights noticing us, we might be staying here for a while, so why not take this time to relax, clean up and stock up on supplies? I'll go ahead and rent two or three rooms for you all."

"Can we?" Luke asked, clearly liking the idea. "I don't want to go back out so soon right after we got here!"

"I'm sorry if the idea would cause you any trouble, but I would like to rest here as well," Ion admitted.

Luke turned to look at him. "...Yeah, your face does look pale again."

"Then we'll stay here for the day and give everyone a chance to rest and re-stock," Tear concluded as soon as she heard that.

"I see no problem with that," Jade nodded. "I'll assume that you don't have enough money for two rooms, Samantha?"

I looked away, embarrassed. "S-Sorry..."

"It's fine. Here, take these," Tear said, walking forward and handing some bills and coins to me. I took them from her with a mumbled thanks. "That should approximately be enough for one two-bed room and one four-bed room, if my memory serves me correct."

"Yeah, that's just about right," Guy confirmed after taking a look at the money in my hands.

"I'll catch up with you guys later, then. Take your time," I said, raising a hand and heading towards the direction where I remembered the inn was located from the game.

I just wanted to get away from the while. Because the atmosphere around the group seemed to have darkened a bit. It made me uncomfortable...

* * *

Oh yeah... this is the life.

I sighed in content as I ducked my head under the cool water that sprayed down on me from the shower-head above. Using the shampoo that the inn had provided, I applied it all over my hair and let it stay there for a while as I picked up the soap, which is also provided by the inn.

_Thank God that Auldrant is advanced enough to have showers, _I thought to myself as I rubbed soap all over my body: making sure not to miss any spot. After all, who knows when I get to shower again?

I have already washed out my clothes (washing it all the blood, grime and who-knows-what-else) and undergarments, so they're currently spread out over a chair in the room that Tear and I are going to share, being left to dry as I first brushed my teeth and then showered. I made sure to lock the door as well, and the key to this room is with me, so people would have to knock if they want to enter. The last thing I need is one of the guys walking in and accidentally finding me in my birthday suit.

Yeah, I had already rented two rooms out, and I left the key to the guy's room with the inn-keeper after telling him what my friends looked like, and to give it to them when he sees them entering the inn.

Unlike in the game, the inns are larger than they were in the game. There's not just one room. You just need to tell the inn-keeper how many rooms you need and how many people are staying, as well as how many grown men and women there are. I paid the inn-keeper with the amount Tear had given me, trusting her judgment that it's just enough and not more. If not... well... that's really, really too bad... I'm not used to this world's money yet. I need to learn how to differentiate them later, as well as how much value they have.

Yeah... later. When I'm not busy being overcome by heavenly bliss like I am now. Who knew I would miss showers this much after just a day? Well... after a day of fighting and travelling, but you know.

After a few more minutes in the shower, I ducked underneath the strong spray of water to wash all of the shampoo and soap away from my body and down the drain: sighing in content once more. Yeah... that was really relaxing...

Finished, I turned the shower off and stepped out of the tub. Making way way to the sink where I have already prepared a towel and a bathrobe beforehand (having found them in a cabinet in the bathroom) and pulled the towel out to dry myself first. I don't believe my clothes were dry yet, so in the meantime, I would wear the bathrobe. Seriously, thank goodness the inn here could provide their customers with the necessities like the ones back on Earth.

After wrapping the towel over my head to dry my hair, I put the inn bathrobe on. It's not exactly appealing, just being a plain cotton bathrobe, but beggars can't be choosers. As long as it serves its purpose, I'm happy.

"_Ha~ppy_..." I sang quietly underneath my breath as I stepped out of the bathroom. As I dried my hair with the towel, I took another look of the room I'm staying in.

The floor and all the furniture in the room were made out of wood. There's a window to the far side of the room, being framed with dark-pink curtains that I have closed shut ('cause I don't want anyone to glance at the window and suddenly see me naked) for now. When I had looked earlier, there were potted flowers lined outside of it, and the window can only be opened from the inside instead of out.

The two beds in the room were simple as well. The headboard and the body were made out of wood, just like the rest of the room. Plain white mattress were placed over the beds, which were covered with blankets with a white and silver stripped pattern. The pillows were also white, which are the same patterns as the blankets.

Oveall, a simple room but with a homey and relaxing feeling.

A brief touch of my clothes was enough to tell me that, yes, they are still wet from when I had washed them earlier before I had washed myself. After drying my hair for a few more minutes, I placed the towel over the free arm of the chair where my clothes were at before I made my way over to one of the beds and threw myself on it. My daggers were on the nightstand next to the bed I'm lying on, and my satchel and sandals were against an empty corner of the room.

"Aaaahhh..."

This feels so good... I can finally sleep in a warm, soft, cushiony bed instead of the the cold, hard, dirty ground. I've only fallen asleep and had fallen unconscious once each ever since coming here. The first time is on the Tartarus when I was knocked unconscious and was forced to sleep on the cold metal ground, and when we all were camping out just last night. Wow... I guess I really took the luxuries back home on Earth for granted. I mean, they're always there everyday, ready to be used by me. Even when I travelled on a plane to another country, I know that things like showers and a soft bed will be waiting for me at the end of the trip.

Or maybe I am just spoiled. Heh.

I stared up at the ceiling above me, trying to figure out what to do while I waited for my clothes to dry.

...Ah... there's an idea. And... no one's looking.

"_We're no strangers to looove..." _I started to sing, bopping my head to the music in my mind. "_You know the rules, and so do I~."_

I pointed my arm at the ceiling, waving my finger around.

"_A full commitment's what I'm thinking of~. You wouldn't get this from any other guy. I~-" _I hopped out of the bed, spreading my arms wide. "-_just wanna tell you how I'm feeling. Gotta make you understand."_

I twirled myself to the center of the room, smiling madly. Oh this song... so fun!

"_Never gonna give you up. Never gonna let you do~wn. Never gonna run around and... desert you!" _I skipped around in a circle. "_Never gonna make you cry. Never gonna saay goodbye~. Never gonna tell a lie... and hurt you!"_

I giggled, swaying side to side.

_"We've known each other... for so looong. Your heart's been aching but... you're too shy to say it! Inside we both know what's been... going on. We know the game and we're... gonna play it. Annnnnd if you ask me how I'm feeling~. Don't tell me you're too blind to see-"_

_KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK_

"_Samantha? Are you there?" _came a muffled female voice.

"OhmyGod!" I slapped a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide.

Then, unable to help myself, I started to laugh despite my embarrassment.

_"...Samantha?"_

"Ah... haha... yeah! I'm here, I'm here!" I laughed, hiding my face in my hands.

Please... pleasepleaseplease don't tell me that Tear had heard my singing just now! Man, she'll probably think I'm crazy! But there's no way for her to hear! I wasn't singing THAT loudly! Right? _Right?_

"I'm sorry... sorry!" I laughed again, stumbling over to the door and grabbing the knob. "Is there anyone else out there with you?"

_"No. It's just me."_

"Good..." I sighed, forcing myself not to smile too big as I unlocked and opened the door a few inches. "Hurry up and come in. I'm not dressed."

I stepped back, allowing Tear to slip into the room before closing and locking the door behind her. She then raised an eyebrow at me.

"What were you doing just now that made you laugh?" She asked. I smiled, shaking my head.

"Just seeing myself doing something stupid," I answered half-truthfully, making my way further into the room and allowing myself to fall back on the bed again. "Forget it."

"I... see."

I remained in my position on the bed, closing my eyes as I just listened to Tear move about the room. I heard her putting her bag down, and then something on a table, and then the slight sound of shifting cloth.

"So, how'd it go?" I asked for the sake of conversation. Remembering something, I quickly added, "Did you meet up with Anise?"

"No," Tear responded, and I turned over to see her placing her long heeled boots next to a chair. "Because of the presence of the Oracle Knights here, she had already moved on to the next location: Kaitzur."

"So that's our next spot," I concluded, watching Tear walking over to the other bed in the room and sitting down on it. Reaching a hand up to the neck of her dress, she pulled out a folded piece of paper (our map) and placed it down on the nightstand next to her table. Next, she took out her throwing knives attached to the metal garter around her legs and placed them there as well. Then, she had started to take off her long, dark-red socks.

"You're going to shower now?"

"Yes," she looked up at me, placing her socks on the nightstand next to her bed. "Would you mind?"

I waved a hand. "No, no, not at all. Just asking. Where have the others gone, anyway?"

"They all are in the separate room you rented out," Tear said, taking off her gloves and placing them next to her socks as she reached up and started to undo the clasps (as I found last night) of her dress behind her neck. "The inn-keeper had already given them the room key as soon as they entered, so don't worry about that."

After having undone the clasps behind her neck and upper back, she pushed the top of her brown dress down: revealing the dark-red halter top she wore underneath it.

As Tear was about to take her brown dress off the entire way, she happened to glance up to see me still staring at her absentmindedly. Her face turned a bright pink.

"...Would you mind to perhaps not stare at me so intently like that?" Tear asked with embarrassment, leaving her brown dress around her waist. I blinked, but smiled. Oh yeah... Tear's modest about her body, isn't she? I believe that isn't right... I mean, look at her! Her body's a killer! Slender, voluptuous with shape curves in the right places, her prominent melon-like breasts... not to mention long, luscious hair and a pretty face...

Wahh... why can't I have a body like her? I'm the older one between the both of us! I'm jealous, jealous, jealous!

"Why?" I asked, shrugging. "We're both girls."

Tear's face became a darker pink at that. "Th-That's true... but... it can't hurt to have just a little bit of privacy, can it?"

"Don't you feel confident about your own body, Tear?" I asked, sitting up with my eyebrows raised. "Why? You're in much better shape than I am. If one of us should be embarrassed, it makes more sense for it to be me, right?"

"But..."

"I have an idea," I smirked teasingly, standing up and placing my hands on my bathrobe. "How about I strip and stay naked until you're finished showering. That way, you don't have to feel shy about your body! We'll be even!"

I had to refrain the laughter bubbling up my throat when I said that. Of course... no way in hell will I actually do something like that: I'm just joking around with her.

Tear gave me a dry look at the offer. "No thank you."

I snorted at that, dropping my hands back down to my sides. "Just kidding, Tear. I don't have the guts to do something like that anyway."

The corners of her lips curled upwards slightly at that, and she closed her eyes in a 'what in the world am I going to do with you?' manner.

"Must be nice to act so carefree," she remarked, finally getting the nerve to push her dress all the way down to her feet and revealing the white, lacy underwear she wore. She's probably distracting herself with another topic of conversation, I guess.

"You think I'm carefree?" I asked, playing along for her sake. I crossed my arms. "Most people say I'm serious, but I guess it all depends on the conversation and the situation, I believe. You shouldn't be too serious all the time either, Tear. You're only putting stress on yourself."

"A good thing that a soldier could learn is how to cope with stress when it arrives and to remain calm and rational," Tear stated, placing her brown dress on the bed and starting to take off her dark-red halter-top. "That is one of the many things I've been taught."

"But how old are you? You're still a teenager right? It doesn't hurt to loosen up every once in a while," I pointed out.

"When one have been taught how to act a certain way for years, it is hard to change it..." Tear murmured quietly, pulling the halter-top over her head and placing it on her dress.

I frowned, staring at my clothes. "...Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Sorry."

"It's alright," Tear assured, standing up from her bed. "I know you only mean well. ...Hm? Is something the matter?"

When Tear had stood up, I had noticed something off so I turned to look back at her. When I had realized what is was, my eyes had widened.

"Wa... Wait... Tear, did you _shrink_?" I asked, bewildered. Tear raised her eyebrow up at that.

"What do you mean?"

"You're..." I gestured to her with a hand, unable to believe what I'm seeing. "Tear... you're... you're actually my height?"

Yes indeed. Whenever we had been walking close together, Tear had been taller than both Ion and I, but still shorter than Luke. But right now... she's standing as the exact same height as me, which really threw me off. I'm always used to seeing her as being taller than Ion in the game. And now that I'm here, during the time I have known her, I'm used to seeing Tear being taller than me as well.

"Yes," Tear confirmed nonchalantly, apparently not seeing any problem with that. "Nothing about me has changed, though."

"So, wait..." I shook my head. "Is it... is it the heels on your boots, then?"

"Yes..." she ruminated, holding a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "...I suppose they _did_ make me appear taller than I really am. I've never paid it much thought however. But I'm honestly quite so used to them now."

I groaned slightly at that, leaning against a wall. "How the hell can you run around in heels that long, anyway? And why heels in the first place?"

"They're part of my Oracle Soldier uniform," Tear explained, dropping her hand. "I've been wearing them for a long time now. Like I said, I'm honestly quite used to them so much, I didn't even notice it anymore."

"...You're unbelievable, you know that?" I gave her a dry look. "I'll never be able to wear heels the way you do."

Tear smiled slightly at that as she crossed her arms. "Perhaps with excessive practice, you might be able to."

I turned my back to her, facing my clothes. "I'll pass, thanks. Anyway, I'm going out when I'm done, so I'll be taking the key with me, alright? I'll lock the door on the way out for your sake."

"That would be appreciated, thank you," Tear said with a smile. I heard her walk towards the bathroom and her closing it behind her. There was a 'click', signaling that Tear had locked it.

Soon, I heard the shower going from the inside as I examined myself in the bathrobe in the mirror. Dyed, shoulder-length auburn hair with bangs framing my forehead, brown eyes, Asian complexion, fair skin tone, short (if you consider 5'3" to be short anyway), slim build, a small bust, huge hips and butt... same old, same old...

Even though I looked the same as I always do back home, I feel different on the inside. Amazing how only a day or two in Auldrant can make you feel like a different person on the inside. Or maybe it's just me...

I grabbed my clothes and started to slip them on after taking off the bathrobe. They're only just a bit wet now, but I'm sure the sun and the wind outside can make them dry faster.

After I finished changing back into my clothes, I draped the bathrobe over a chair before walking over to where my satchel and red sandals were. I guess it's best if I bring the satchel along too, just in case. Who knows what could happen in Auldrant, a place filled with bandits and monsters?

That done, I grabbed my daggers, slipped them into my pockets and walked towards the door: grabbing the hotel room key on my way out. Stepping out of the room, I locked the door behind me before I made my way down the hallways and down the staircase that would lead me to the inn's lobby downstairs.

As soon as I reached the lobby, I raised my eyebrows when I saw Guy and Luke there talking together. What really caught my attention about them however, was the fact that Luke's not wearing his typical white coat, but just the black shirt that wore underneath it. In my opinion, without the white coat, Luke looked... normal. I mean... not '_normal_ normal'... but _Earth_ normal. Because you can find black shirts being worn with brown pants anywhere. Or it could be because you don't normally find coats styled like Luke's back on Earth. Without it... Luke reminded me of a normal civilian that I'm used to seeing back home now, minus his long, natural, flaming red hair.

Or maybe it's just me... or maybe it's even because I've never seen Luke without his white coat on _ever. _Both in the game and here now.

I quickly found Luke's white coat draped over Guy's arm. Guy was also holding a brown wallet in one hand for some reason.

Curious, I stayed where I was standing on the stairs, listening in on their conversation. They both still haven't noticed me yet.

"Are you sure Luke? I have enough money, I could just get you a new one. That saves time as well," Guy was saying.

But Luke quickly shook his head, crossing his well-muscled arms across his chest. "But I like _this _coat!" He protested strongly, gesturing to his coat over Guy's arm. "Come on Guy, I know you can fix that burnt sleeve. It's the Thing's fault that it's in that condition in the first place!"

"Oh, fixing it isn't a problem," Guy smiled a bit. "I just want to know why you're so adamant about getting this immediately fixed when there's plenty of other coats on sale in the shops here."

Luke huffed loudly, as if the answer should be obvious. "Because it's a present from you, _by _you! There's no other coat that's as cool as the one you gave me!"

Guy laughed at that, though I noticed that his eyes softened at the answer. "Aw, is that the reason, Luke? When a master showed that they really liked the present given to them by their servant, then that's a good ego-boost for the latter. I'm touched."

Luke actually looked offended at that, and he gritted his teeth as he stressed out the following next words. "I don't see you as _just_ a servant! But if it's just a stupid permission that you need, then I'm _ordering_ you to fix it!"

He angrily looked away at that. Guy looked startled more at Luke's outburst than his words it seems, but he quickly smiled again, looking pleased. He chuckled again good-heartedly.

"Well, I suppose that's an order that I just can't ignore now, can I?" the blond said half-teasingly. "Relax, Luke. I'll get right to work on this, and it'll look brand new once I'm done."

Luke didn't say anything at that, but he did give a nod of satisfaction. "Good."

I looked away awkwardly, knowing that I have just walked in and listened into what _should _have been a private conversation. However, I steeled my resolve and walked over to them: trying to act casual.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked, trying to pretend that I haven't heard anything. That might be awkward for the both of them... if not just Luke.

Both looked a bit startled at the sound of my voice before turning to look over to me. Luke's look surprise quickly turned into one of annoyance, however.

"Geez, isn't it rude to sneak up on people?" he demanded of me. When I reached them, Guy took a few steps back to put in some distance away from me since I'm probably too close for comfort in his standards. I ignored this, since I have to get used to it for the rest of this journey.

I quickly waved a hand in apology at that. "Sorry, sorry. I was just heading out. What's up?"

"Just sold some weapons and unnecessary items at the market," Guy informed me, holding up his wallet for emphasis. He then lowered his voice a bit so as to not let anyone hear. "Most of them are from the Oracle Knights we killed."

I nodded, and Guy took up a normal volume to speak in again. "Anyway, I _was _going to go purchase some more ingredients for food, but I need to fix the burnt sleeve on Luke's coat first."

I frowned at that. "I thought you had enough ingredients."

Guy shook his head. "No. I only brought enough supply for two people, since I didn't expect to be travelling back home with you guys. So I need to stock up on that before we leave."

"I can go pick them up, if you want me to," I offered. Why not? It's not like I have any other plans, anyway.

"Really? You don't mind?"

"I wouldn't ask if I was."

"Alright..." Guy placed his wallet into his pocket before pulling out a pencil. "Luke. Mind if I borrow a paper from your diary?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," the red-head drawled in a bored voice as he picked up a book that I didn't notice from the table next to him. Flipping it open to the last page, Luke casually ripped off a piece of paper and handed it to Guy. Flinging Luke's coat over one shoulder, Guy took the paper and started to write some things down onto it.

"Here," Guy said after a few seconds of writing, holding the piece of paper out to me. I noticed that he's holding the paper with just two fingers by the corner. Taking care not to touch his fingers, I carefully took the paper from him without getting in contact with his skin.

"You should really work on that fear, Guy," I couldn't help but say that with a sigh.

"Sorry," the blond said sincerely. "But maybe I'll naturally overcome it during this journey like Ion says."

"Then it's a promise, alright?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "Because seeing you afraid of me is kind of... it's... well..." I trailed off awkwardly.

"I'm not afraid of _you _in particular, Sam!" Guy protested. Luke suddenly looked confused at that.

"...Sam?" he repeated, looking between us.

"It's just a nickname, Luke," both Guy and I said at the same time, to our surprise. We both then chuckled at that.

"That was weird," I giggled.

Luke however, didn't find it funny at all as he scowled at the both of us. "That's a _boy's _name, you know!"

I shrugged. "I don't mind that at all. It's not a big deal, really."

"Really?" Luke asked skeptically, not looking convinced. "...Fine. Whatever. Do whatever you want. I don't care."

"But if you want to call me that too, Luke, then I don't mind either," I said, looking down at the list that Guy had given me. "It's just a nickna- ahh..."

"What?" Luke asked, his eyebrow raised when he saw the troubled look that's probably all over my face now. "What's wrong now?"

Oh... oh _shit_!

How the hell could I have forgotten this?

"Is something the matter?" Guy asked, and I quickly shook my head as I put on a fake smile.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," I laughed nervously, looking down at the list in my hand.

I can't read it. I can't read it _at all_. It's all written in characters that I'm not at all familiar with_._

The Fonic Alphabet... how could I have forgotten? Oh, I am so screwed now. How could I tell everyone that I can't read the Fonic Alphabet without giving away the fact that I'm not from this world?

"Anyway, I'll be going back to our room to start fixing this now," Guy informed us, walking up the stairs and throwing a wave over his shoulder. "Don't get into trouble, now."

"You don't have to tell me _that!" _Luke yelled after Guy's retreating form before heaving a sigh. "Honestly... I'm not a kid anymore!"

He then turned towards the direction of the door. "Well, I'll go explore the rest of the town, then."

I quickly reached a hand out and grabbed Luke by the back of his black shirt before he could walk away. "Luke, w-wait!"

"What?" He asked impatiently, looking back down at me with narrowed eyes.

I needed someone who could read the Fonic Alphabet, or else I'll never get this chore done. Of course, I won't tell him that I can't read, but I can still trick him into casually reading me the things from the list when we reach the store.

"_What?_" Luke repeated his question, turning around, crossing his arms and tapping his foot against the wooden floor of the inn impatiently. "If you got something to say, then hurry up and get it out, already!"

I took in a deep breath and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"...Come with me?" I asked, making my voice as sweet as I could. "Please Luke? I don't want to go alone."

The red-headed male rolled his eyes at that, but raised a hand and made a dismissive wave. "Fine, whatever. But _only_ if I get to explore the town and take a look at the medicine store before the grocery first, got it?"

"Of course. Deal," I nodded, letting out a faint sigh of relief.

"_Mieuuuuuu~! _I want to go with Master toooooo~!" came a familiar high and squeaky voice as a small blue creature stumbled down the stairs as fast as he could without falling over. "Wait for meeee~!"

"Hurry. Let's go _now_," Luke spoke quickly, roughly grabbing my wrist and started to forcibly pull me out the door. I winced, then dug my feet to the floor as hard as I could.

"Ow! Luke... no! Let Mieu come along, it won't be that bad! Can't you- _ow_, Luke! Leggo, it hurts! Luke, you're gonna pull my arm out~!" I cried, doing my best to stay rooted as Luke pulled me along even despite my form of resistance. Okay, that hurt, that hurt! I'm not sure whether he's aware of his own strength or not, but he's really strong. His grip on my wrist was like a vice.

"Don't be stupid! If the Thing comes along with us, we might as well spend more money to buy even more headache medicines than needed!" he barked, giving a harsh tug that nearly made me go stumbling to the ground. "Let's just-"

"Master~!" Mieu exclaimed happily as he finally made his way to where we were. He climbed up Luke's pants, up his stomach and shirt and finally stopped when he reached his shoulder. "I'm going to accompany Master too!"

"Now look what you did," Luke growled at me before grabbing Mieu with his free hand and practically throwing the poor cheagle to the floor hard. "And don't touch me, Thing!"

"Luke... you're making a scene..." I whispered, noticing the look that the receptionist at the check-in counter is giving us. Growling, Luke picked Mieu up again with his free hand before storming out the door with me in tow: as he still have a tight grip on my wrist.

"Luke, seriously, _ow_."

"Not my problem you're just weak. Toughen up."

* * *

"Hey, Thing. What's Ion doing anyway?" Luke asked rudely as the three of us made our way through town. People are roaming around, off doing their own stuff and talking with their own friends or family members as a group kids played tag nearby.

"Ion's really tired, so he's taking a nap right now!" Mieu answered, not at all bothered with the tone Luke had just used against him. "When Guy entered the room, he told me that Master's in the lobby with Samantha, so I wanted to see what you're doing!"

"I'm doing just fine without you torturing my ears with that voice of yours," he grunted.

"Hey, do you know where Jade is anyway?" I asked.

"Oh. Him? Dunno. After Tear had went to your room, the rest of us just talked to Ion about where he was taken to back on the Tartarus," Luke shrugged.

I might as well ask, even though I already know about that. I don't want to accidentally talk about something I'm not supposed to know. Better safe than sorry. Plus, I think Tear would want to know as well.

"Where was he taken to?"

"A place called a 'Sephiroth'," Luke responded. "You know what those are, right?"

"Of course," I nodded. He looked relieved at that, probably glad that he doesn't have to explain too much to me.

"Yeah. They took Ion to one of those places. But when Jade asked what they made him do there, he just says that it's confidential to the Order," he sniffed disdainfully at that. "I've already lost count of how many times Ion has said _that_."

"I see..."

We continued walking in silence for a while, and I tried to look for another topic to talk about. Eventually I found one.

"So... I didn't know Guy could sew," I commented, looking around and taking in the sights.

"He could," Luke replied. "Those clothes he wore? He made them himself. I saw."

"Wow. He's pretty skilled, isn't he?"

"He's a servant," Luke reminded me as if I'm an idiot. "It's one of the things he needed to learn, I guess." He shrugged. "Plus, he says that he likes to make things. Clothes are one of them. He doesn't mind. Oh, hey!" He stepped forward. "Take a look at that tree! It's huge!"

Without warning, he suddenly took off at a run towards a giant tree in patch of grassy area situated between two houses.

"Master!"

"Luke! Wait up!" I called out, bending down to pick Mieu up and running after him. "I swear... he really is like a kid!"

As soon as I reached the tree, Luke was already climbing up the wooden ladder that led up to it, not even waiting for us to catch up. That Luke... just going to any place he pleases without even thinking if it could be a restricted area or not. It's like he doesn't care at all!

I sighed, looking up at tree. It really was gigantic... it was so tall, it towered over all the houses here in Saint Binah, it seems. The very top seemed to touch the sky above...

"Master..."

"Don't worry, I'm going, I'm going..." I sighed, allowing Mieu to rest on my shoulder. "Hold on tight, okay. I'm climbing up."

At that moment, I feel as if I'm Luke's babysitter: following after him and making sure he doesn't get into trouble.

Placing one hand on a wooden step, I hesitated for just a moment before starting to climb down. _Take it slow and don't look down... I don't want to fall to my death, if not break something._

That was my main thought as I climbed the ladder all the way up to the top. When I felt the floorboard above me and I pulled myself up onto it, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Took you long enough," I heard Luke's obnoxious voice from above me.

"You took off without even giving me a warning!" I defended myself.

"Oh my. So the both of you are also interested in investigating this tree?" came a third familiar voice.

"Hi Jade," I mumbled, not even looking up. I crawled away from the edge, not wanting to accidentally fall over.

"We're just looking around and wanted to see what's up here. And what are those dirty things?" Luke pointed to a bunch of maps and ancient-looking books piled together in a corner.

"They seem to belong to Field Marshal McGovern," Jade replied, turning back to look up at the tree.

"Oh. That old guy?" Luke asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"It looks like he's trying to solve the mysteries of the Soil Tree: the symbol of Saint Binah." Jade placed a hand to his chin in thought. "About why just this one tree is the only one that grew so large. Is it true that it's two thousand years old? I suppose the mystery behind this tree is the reason why Field Marshal McGovern wanted to study the relationship between the Soil Tree and the other plant life here."

"Because the plants and flowers here can't grow anywhere else in the world, right?" I asked, remembering that certain information from the game. I then remembered Guy's lecture from earlier. "That's right. The reason that Saint Binah has the best effective medicine... it's because they're made from the flowers and other plants here. They can't grow anywhere else, so Saint Binah excels in the export of their medicines. Because of that, the prices of the medicines from here can give this city quite the main income."

Mieu closed his eyes, sniffing the tree. "This big tree smells the same as my home!" He noted in excitement.

Luke scoffed at that, looking down at the cheagle. "What? You think this is the same kind of tree as the one you live in? The plants in this city don't grow anywhere else, remember? What are you, stupid?"

Jade closed his eyes, looking deep in thought.

"Jade?" I called out. "What's on your mind?"

Jade was silent for a few more seconds, and Luke turned to look at him when he finally spoke again.

"Interesting. The Field Marshal, too, may have arrived at a certain hypothesis."

"What hypothesis?" Luke asked, his brows furrowed.

"It's a secret~!" Jade sang, making Luke huff. "Well, I suppose we can leave it at that for now. Let's leave these maps alone. It wouldn't be nice to interfere with the Field Marshal's work. Anyway, what are you all up to? Mind if I tag along in your little exploring adventure?"

"Do whatever you want," Luke said in annoyance as he started to climb back down.

A few minutes later, all of us were back down on the ground and were making our way towards Saint Binah's medicine shop. It didn't took long, since the medicine shop was nearby the Soil Tree. The medicine shop looked like the rest of the houses here, but what differentiates it from the others is the huge sign shaped like a potion bag over the front door. It's hard to miss.

A tiny bell had rung when we opened the door to the shop. Stepping inside behind Luke, I took a look around. There are several shelves containing bottles and vials of different shapes, and the fluids inside each one of them are all different. It looked like your regular pharmacy shop, but all the furnishings in the store are all made of wood. The entire store smelt faintly of herbs.

"Welcome!" greeted the man behind the counter. He appeared to be in his late-twenties or older. He had tan skin, and short light-brown hair with bangs that fell in front of his light-green eyes. He had on a blue sleeved shirt and dark-green pants that's held up with a black belt. He smiled at us as we entered. "How may I help you?"

"I want some medicine for these strange headaches that I keep getting all the time," Luke told him bluntly. "And I don't want any medicine for _normal _headaches, either."

I placed a palm to my face as the man behind the counter frowned slightly at that. He tilted his head. "...What are your headaches like, sir?"

"Everytime I get them, I keep hearing a weird voice as well," Luke explained. He's either unaware of how crazy his explanation sounded, or didn't care. "My headaches keeps showing up at the most random times, and when they do, they're painful, and I would always hear a voice talking to me as well. You got anything for that?"

The man behind the counter was prominently frowning now as he stared at Luke strangely. He looked away, scratching his chin. "I... I'm not sure what kind of headaches those are, sir... nor do we have anything for something like that. I've never heard anything like it. I could give you the regular headache-relieving pills just to make them more bearable should they come to you-"

"That's not enough!" Luke protested. "All the doctors I have kept giving me those, and they never worked at all! Can't you just give me the strongest medicine you got?"

"I believe that will not be good for your health, sir," the man said calmly, his eyes sympathetic. "We cannot just merely give you a random medicine for an unexplainable illness and wish for the best."

Luke threw his arms up impatiently at that. "Great. And here I thought that Saint Binah has the _best _medicines."

"Luke..." I hissed quietly, elbowing him. "Don't be rude..."

"Well, I highly doubted there would be anything to cure voice-inducing headaches in the first place," Jade said in an out-of-place cheerful voice. "If I was told to give a name to Luke's condition, I would probably say it's schizophrenia."

Luke snapped his head over to Jade angrily at that. "I'm. Not. Crazy!" He hissed venomously through gritted teeth.

"I never said you are," Jade shrugged, raising his hands up. "I am merely speaking hypothetically."

"You sound dead serious though," I pointed out, placing a hand on Luke's shoulder. I suddenly had a thought. "If you knew that we're not going to get anything in the first place, then why didn't you say anything?"

The necromancer shrugged again. "I don't think it would stop the young master here from trying to ask anyway."

"You just want to watch me embarrass myself, do you?" Luke demanded heatedly.

"Mieuuu~! Master, please calm down!" Mieu begged desperately from his place on the ground next to Jade.

"_SHUT UP, THING!"_

"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" came a new voice.

We all turned to see a brown-haired man come out of a door from behind the counter. Unlike his friend, he had a fair skin-tone, and no hair were getting into his brown eyes. He was wearing a light-browned sleeved shirt with tan gloves, along with brown pants. He was holding a note-pad in his hands as she looked over at all of us.

"...Is something the problem?" the new man asked, taking note of Luke's pissed off face.

"No, not at all," I lied, waving a hand and putting on a fake smile. I heard Luke heave a sigh next to me. "Don't mind us."

The brown-haired man raised his eyes at that. "Well, if you say so." He turned towards the tanned man at the counter. "Glin, I don't have enough ingredients for my new product. I just need some pure cotton and a gel base. Can't you get them for me?"

"Ren, you know I'm not a fighter. I can't leave this town on my own," Glin sighed. "Can't you try getting them yourself?"

"I need to look after my sick father. He doesn't have the energy to stand now," Ren shook his head. "Which is precisely why I need to make the new medicine. It'll be strong enough to replenish lost energy _and _cure mental fatigue. It's just the thing my father needs. If all goes well, we can start selling it, too."

"That would be good," Glin agreed. "But neither of us can get the items you need, so we're stuck now."

"If only our customers could return used gel bases instead of just throwing away. I'm sure I can at least get one of them if I just drink one-"

"Ren," Glin interrupted, his voice stern. "How many times do I have to tell you? You can't drink one of your products if you don't really need them. It would be a waste!"

"...You need a gel base?" I asked suddenly, remembering something. "Um... I have one. My friend used an Apple Gel earlier and I still have the empty base with me..."

"Keeping garbage with you, Samantha?" Jade asked with amusement. "Now aren't you such a good little girl?"

"Yeah, even I think that's weird," Luke snorted.

I felt my face flush at that. "B-Be quiet, both of you! I was planning to throw it away later, but I forgot about it until now!"

"You have an empty gel base?" Ren asked, looking happy. "P-Please... may I have it?"

I could understand why he felt awkward in asking that question. I'm sure asking someone for an empty gel base is like asking someone for an empty can of coke.

"Yeah..." I opened my satchel, going through the stuff in it before pulling out the two empty containers from earlier. "Um, can I give the other one to you too? I have no other reason to keep them."

"No problem. I might use that later too."

Walking over to the counter, I handed the two empty bottles to Glin, who handed them to Ren.

"All I have to do is wash these and they'll be as good as new again," Ren said with a smile. "Now... I just need some pure cotton..."

"_Mieu! _I know where to find some pure cotton!" Mieu exclaimed joyfully, hopping in his place with a paw up. Both Ryan and Glin looked surprised at the sight of a talking animal, so I gave them a sheepish smile.

"Really?" Luke asked dubiously, his hands on his hips as he leaned down towards the cheagle with narrowed eyes. "Where?"

"Guy has some! Guy has some!" Mieu answered energetically, and Luke's eyebrows flew up at that.

"Guy?"

"I saw!" Mieu stated, looking up at Luke with wide, round grey eyes. "Guy was taking out some stuff to fix Master's coat with, and I saw some cotton among those things!"

"Probably for any torn cotton clothes, I guess," I shrugged. "Then, should we ask him for some?"

"Why do _we_ have to?" Luke asked snobbishly. "It's none of our business! It's just a stupid medicine! They couldn't even help us when we needed it!"

"Actually, if what they say is true, then having this new medicine available for sale could actually be quite beneficial to us," Jade pointed out, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Saint Binah's medicine will be exported throughout the world. If all goes well, then this new medicine will be as well, and would be available in most medicine shops in some, if not all, of the cities in the world. It would help not only us, but to everyone else who would wish to purchase it as well. It sounds quite useful."

"Even though it's not what we wanted, we would still get something in the end if we do this," I said, tilting my head a bit with a smile. "So why not?"

"Tsk... fine." Luke crossed his arms angrily. "Whatever you want to do."

"I'll just run back to the inn and ask Guy for some cotton real quick and run back," I told them, walking to the door. "I trust you two won't start fighting again while I'm gone?"

"My, Samantha... what a cruel thing to think," I heard Jade say with amusement. "Why would I want to get into a fight with our dear young master?"

"...You know, with that attitude and that tone of voice... it's like you're just _asking_ for a fight."

That was the last thing I heard before I left the shop and started my run back to the inn.

* * *

_Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!_

That was the sound of my knocking rapidly on the door to the guy's room as I let out a breath, inhaling and exhaling quickly from my run all the day from the medicine shop to here in the inn.

I heard the sound of the knob being turned before it opened slightly, revealing a curious looking Ion on the other side. "Ah, Samantha, it's you." He opened the door completely when he realizes it's just a friend. "Did something bad happened? You look just a bit out of breath, as if you've done some running."

"No, no, not at all, don't worry," I laughed slightly. "Is Guy in there? I need to ask him for something."

Nodding, Ion stepped aside to allow me entry to the room. As I walked in, I saw Guy seated on one of the four beds in the room. Luke's coat was in his hands, as well as a needle and some white thread. I noticed that the burnt sleeve was cut off and thrown onto the floor next to the bed as Guy sewed a new sleeve onto the coat. From the looks of it, he's made some good process. Damn, he's good.

"Hey Sam. What's up?" He asked after looking up and seeing me.

"Guy," I breathed out. "It's a long story, and I'll explain everything to you later, but do you have some cotton... some pure cotton? I need some now."

"Cotton?" Ion questioned.

He raised a blond eyebrow at the request. "Yeah, I have some. I found some cotton trees and picked some up just in case I may need them for sewing, maybe even medical purposes. How did you know, though?"

"Mieu saw and told," I explained simply. "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry now, so can I have some. Long story short, we're helping someone out."

"Well, if that's the case, sure." Placing his work down on the side of the bed, he made his way over to his bag on a table. After rummaging through it for a few seconds, he turned around and held his palm out. Several large cotton rested in his gloved hand.

I let out a sigh of relief, making my way towards him and reaching a hand out for them. "Oh, thanks a lot Guy. I thou-"

"Aaahh!"

Guy suddenly jumped back several feet away from me and pressed himself tightly against the wooden wall behind him as he stared at me with frightened eyes: shaking.

"_Guuuy~!"_

"I-I'm sorry! But you just got too close!"

I facepalmed at that, moaning.

* * *

_Ding-ding..._

"I'm back..." I breathed out, sighing heavily. "Maybe I shouldn't used up all my energy into running so fast..."

"You're such a weirdo," Luke remarked as I entered the shop, breathing quickly to get air back into my system.

"It's not like they're going anywhere," he added.

I smiled at him tiredly. "I don't like to keep people waiting. Heh... oh my goodness..."

The red-head groaned at that, raising his head up and shaking his head. "You really are weird."

"Hehe. Sorry."

I made my way over to the counter where Ren and Glin are still are and held my hand out to them: showing them the cottons that I got from Guy.

"Will these do?" I asked. Ren's eyes lighted up at that.

"Yes! Those can help!" he gratefully accepted the cottons from me with a smile. "Finally... I can mix the new medicine up. Sorry for the trouble, I appreciate it."

"Do you think it will work well?" Glin asked, and Ren turned to face his friend with a nod.

"I'm sure. My father made it once as a test, and it worked splendidly when we gave it to our neighbor's sick dog. Since the main ingredients are a blend of different fruits, I believed that it will be fine if a human could drink it just as well," Ren said.

He then turned to us. "When I'm finished mixing this medicine, I'll give it to my father and see how it goes. Please, do come back tomorrow morning. If all goes well, I will surely make it worth your while."

"Jade?" I turned to the necromancer.

"I think we would have enough time for just that," Jade nodded. "But try not to keep us here for too long. We'll be leaving the city tomorrow to catch up with a friend of ours'."

"We won't," Ren nodded in confirmation. "I will see you tomorrow morning then. Please don't forget."

"We'll definitely drop by tomorrow morning before leaving," I promised as we all walked out of the store. "See you until then."

"Well, that was fun," Jade remarked, clasping his hands behind his back when we'll all out of the medicine shop. "I'll return back to the inn. It has been an exhausting day for me."

With that, Jade left us as he walked down the road and back towards the direction of the inn.

"He doesn't even look tired," Luke mumbled as he watched Jade's retreating back.

I shrugged. "That's Jade. Now come on. We still have some grocery shopping to do. You promised that you'd escort me to do it. I did my end of the deal with you, so you do yours as well."

"Ugh, fine. I think there's a market stall that sells food at the square close to the inn," Luke frowned, starting to head towards the direction of the square with me and Mieu following him.

Time to put my plan into action.

I pulled out Guy's grocery list and held it up to the young noble. For the second time today, I used the sweetest voice I could speak with. "Luke, could you _please _hold onto this list for a few minutes? I need to look for my bag of Gald in my satchel."

Well, that was the truth, at the least.

"Just put it into your pocket," Luke said as we continued walking. I bit my lip, then continued to press my case: reaching up and softly tugging on the sleeve of his black shirt with one hand.

"But I need to pick up all the food and then pay as well. There might even be change. Also, I'm going to need both my hands to carry the bags. Just help out a bit."

Inhaling quietly and holding it in until my eyes watered, I then looked up and him and gave him a pout: leaning up towards him on my tip-toes just a bit. "_Pleease_, Luke...?"

"Argh! Don't give me that face!" he complained, looking away. I really had to refrain myself from smirking when I noticed how uncomfortable he looked. But alas, I had to keep my act, so I kept the look and tugged on his sleeve again, and making my voice sound as pitifully sad as possible, yet still sound sweet at the same time.

"_Luuuke..."_

"Okay, okay, _okay!" _he finally relented, snatching the list from my hands and looking away from me just as fast. "R-Really... stop looking at me like that already!"

I finally allowed myself to grin for just a moment as I let go of him. I bit my lip to hide it when Luke turned to face me again.

"Happy?"

I nudged him in the side with my shoulder as a response. "You know how to look after a lady well, Luke."

"S-Shut up."

Part one of my mission accomplished. Now for the next part...

Having arrived at square already, Luke and I made our way to a stall that has several kind of food and ingredients out on display. The vendor was a woman with brown hair tied back into a ponytail. She was wearing a blue shirt and a long, brown skirt that reached all the way to her ankles it seems. She smiled at us warmly when we approached her stall.

"Welcome! How can I help you?" she greeted us, bringing up a paper bag for our purchases.

"Let's see..." I intentionally examined the food in front of me for a moment, while at the same time pulling my purse from out of my satchel. Finally, I put the next phase of my plan into action by saying, "Hey, Luke? Be a dear and tell me what we need, will you? I'm going to put them in the paper bag."

I nearly jumped in happiness when Luke started to read out the names of the food we need from the grocery list in a dreadfully bored tone of voice. But that doesn't matter to me, it worked!

So with that, after a few minutes later, we were finally finished with our shopping, and all of our purchases were kept in paper bags. I handed my wallet to Luke, telling him to pay (since I'm still not familiar with Gald and which coin and bill costs how much) as I gathered up all the paper bags into my arms. Hey, it would be suspicious if I didn't do anything!

Having finished paying for our purchases, Luke nonchalantly dropped my purse back into my open satchel with a grunt.

"Thank you for shopping here!" The woman chirped with a smile. "Please do shop here again another time! Oh, and if you don't mind my saying... you two make quite the lovely couple."

Luke choked on his own air at that, while I nearly dropped all of the grocery bags on the ground in my shock. We both gaped at the now confused woman, and I felt my entire face heating up.

"She's _not _my girlfriend!" Luke yelled angrily before practically storming away and towards the direction of the inn with Mieu right behind him: leaving me alone with the now sheepish-looking woman.

I stared down at all the grocery bags I now have to carry back to the inn. On my own.

"Luke? What I said earlier about you knowing how to treat a lady well?" I whispered quietly to myself as I struggled to get all the paper bags into my arms. "I take it back. I. Seriously. Take. It. Back."

Oh well... at least I survived my first shopping attempt here without blowing my cover or humiliating myself. Just carrying all these grocery bags back to the inn by myself doesn't hurt right? How hard could it be?

_Thump!_

As if to answer my internal question, a bag of vegetables fell from my arms and onto the ground.

I sighed. Okay... this might just be a bit harder than I thought. Stupid Luke...

* * *

**End of the chapter! Please leave a review on your way way, 'kay?**

**BTW... The song that Sam sung in this chapter is "Never Gonna Give you Up" by Rick Astley. You just got rick-rolled! XD Lol.**

**~Note~**

**Interesting trivia about Tear: in the official Tales website, Aselia, it's stated that Tear is 5'3 (162 cm) in height, and Ion as 5'4" (166 cm). Yet it was shown in both the game and the anime that Tear's taller than him.**

**Also, if you watch the opening of "Tales of VS" on Youtube, Tear can be seen as being MUCH taller than Colette Brunel when she stands next to her, even though Colette's officially listed as being 5'2" (158 cm) ...meaning she should normally be only an inch shorter than Tear.**

**And so, I had concluded that it was just because of the heels that Tear wore that she appears much taller than officially listed. I'm just making it to have more sense while sticking to the canon heights. I'm NOT making Tear short on a whim. Just wanted to clear that up before someone complains.**

**~Extra~**

**This is a site that shows you the list of all the characters of the Fonic Alphabet. I'm just putting this here in case some of you are curious:**

**http: /www .omniglot .com /writing /fonic. htm**


	11. Working

_Heey~! Guess what? When I'm putting this chapter up, my birthday's tomorrow (Sep 4)! :DD_

_So, with that said, if you want to make this lil' ol' author feel warm and fuzzy and loved inside… please give me a birthday present in the form of: a) A review, b) A fanart, or c) a one-shot dedicated to me. :hearts: I will be a very, very happy girl if you did._

**Anyway…**

**Here's part 11 of Falling Into The Abyss!** **This will be, for the most part, a filler chapter.**

**I'll be introducing one major and some minor OCs here this chapter! Sam will make her first friend outside the ToA group!**

_Disclaimer: I don't own ToA or its characters. The only OCs I own are Sam, Kiren and Nocturne. Any other named OCs used in this fic are borrowed with permission from their respective authors, as listed in my profile page._

**Also… I made a reference to the title of one of my favorite ToA SI fics, so see if you can find it~! Hint: it's in Japanese.**

**Now… Let's. Go!**

**

* * *

**

**Working**

With some difficulty, I somehow managed to carry ALL of the grocery bags back with me to the inn. Though I had to 'knock' on the inn door with a foot to get them to open up: having no free hands at the time. I think that really irked the receptionist at the counter, but can I really help the fact that I can't free a hand to open the door myself?

Tear was at the lobby when I had entered, and she was a bit appalled when she heard from myself that Luke had left me alone to deal with all of the bags. Needless to say, she helped me out by taking some of the grocery from me to carry herself as we both made our way to the guys' room.

Why we had decided to make a stop at the guys' room first, you ask? Well, Tear wanted to have a 'talk' with Luke about 'proper manners'.

So here I am now: leaning against the wall next to the window as Tear started to argue with the young, red-haired noble. All of the grocery bags were currently placed on a table that Jade was standing next to as he watched the two with mild amusement. Mieu was on the bed that Guy was seated on: still fixing Luke's coat. Last but not least, Ion was on the opposite side of the window I'm standing next to, looking worried.

"Honestly, what were you thinking Luke?" Tear asked angrily, her hands on her hips. "How can you let Samantha carry all of the grocery bags without even lending a hand to help?"

"I already helped!" he protested heatedly. "I was holding onto the grocery list and listing off everything that we needed!"

"But it's still courteous if a man offered to do the heavy-lifting as well," Tear pointed out, frowning deeply. "Surely you're not willing to carry at least lighten the load that Samantha was forced to carry all by herself?"

"I don't see why I have to bother to help with carrying the grocery bags!" Luke whined. "That's a servant's job! I never had to worry about doing those kind of things back home at the manor!"

"While we're traveling together on this journey, you should be more considerate of your other party members and help when they needed it. It's something they don't always have to tell you about, you know," Tear inhaled sharply, her eyes cold as she focused her gaze on the young man in front of her. "Learn how to stop being so lazy. Also, if that wasn't all, you left Samantha behind and came back earlier when you could have waited for her. Don't you see anything wrong with that?"

"Argh!" Luke ruffled his hair violently with both hands. "Shut up, shut up! Just stop nagging my ear off already, jeez! I don't need to hear all that lecture from you!"

"She's just trying to help you out, Luke," Guy supplied in a light voice. When Luke turned to face him, Guy gave him a wink. "You know, courtesy and chivalry are a true man's best points! If you have them, then the people around you will like and respect you a lot more."

I smothered a smile at that. Guy's really the best example of that, isn't he?

"I don't need you telling me that!" Luke rolled his eyes, huffing and crossing his arms. "I already got more than enough lectures from Father and that naggy Natalia, so I don't need any more people trying to tell me what to do!" He fixed a steely gaze on Tear. "Especially you! Don't order me around!"

"Luke!" she finally snapped. "You should learn and listen more from Guy and everyone else who's trying to help you. You should be glad that they're even bothering to help by fixing that attitude of yours!"

"I don't _need_ any help, and I sure as hell didn't _ask_ for it!" Luke turned his back onto Tear, as if signaling the end of the conversation. "Bother someone else who wants to hear you go on and on about nothing or the other."

"Tear, let it go," I spoke up uneasily. "It's fine."

"You couldn't even open the door on your way in on your own, how can that be fine?" Tear sighed, dropping her arms.

"Really… it's no big—"

"Ah…!" Ion suddenly exclaimed softly, his eyes wide as he stared out the window.

"Is something the matter, Ion?" Jade asked, his tone serious.

Ion pointed out the window. "I could see the gates from here. Look! The God-Generals are here!"

"What…?" I heard Guy asked before everyone made their way over.

"Everyone, try not to be in full view of the window! We can't risk giving ourselves away, even despite where we are now!" Tear advised strongly.

Everyone complied. Though we all are looking out the window, none of us are standing right in front of it. I think Tear's idea is a good one… if one of the God-Generals just so happen to casually glance up our way and see us at the window, then our cover's blown. Plus, there's no where to run in Saint Binah, especially if Oracle Knights are guarding the only entrance slash exit.

Since we were on the second floor of the inn, we could see the gate and the people in front of it clearly. However, that gave us more reason to be more careful of not accidentally exposing ourselves by standing right in front of the window. Granted, they're not looking this way… but better safe than sorry.

I could see some familiar faces in the group hanging outside in front of Saint Binah's gates, talking with the Oracle Knights guarding the entrance.

There's Legretta… and Arietta with her doll and her liger friend… and…

"Damn," Jade cursed. "Largo survived."

"That's… from… even from a stab wound right below his chest?" I breathed, honestly horrified. "Your spear… it came out the other side of his body, dammit! How the hell could he have survived _that_?"

"It seems we have underestimated them," Jade murmured, pushing his glasses up with a sigh. "If given the chance next time, I'll make sure he won't be as fortunate."

Indeed. That behemoth God-General of a man is within that group outside the town as well. It's easy to point him out, since his tall, hulking frame towered over everyone else there with him.

Let's see… oh. There's Sync with his spiky leaf-green hair and the pointed mask covering the upper-half of his face. For the most part, he's garbed in black, with only some dark-green at the front, and the red and yellow bands around his upper arms.

…And… what the hell? Is that _Dist_? Oh, you have got to be kidding me. He looks even more ridiculous in real life! I could tell that even from my position.

If Largo can be easily spotted, then Dist is easy to pick out as well. Because he's seated in this huge, plush reddish-brown chair that… floats. No, seriously. I could see that chair hovering up and down. How a chair could float and move around is beyond me.

Dist is garbed in a black jacket that exposes his chest, with giant pink frills around the back of his collar. He wore a dark-red arm-band on both of his upper arms, and dark-violet pants. His purplish-white hair is prominent, and I could vaguely see the outline of glasses on his face, especially when they caught the light of the sun: making a gleam appear on the surface.

And… does he think he's a prima donna or something? Look at his pose! He had one elbow resting on one of the arm of his floating chair, and he was resting his cheek on one hand. His body was arched over to one side while one of his legs was crossed theatrically over the other in a very girlish manner. Uh… oh-kaay… I just had to think… is Dist seriously gay or what? The fact that I know he's overly obsessed with Jade doesn't help either. And I _really_ remember him wearing purple lipstick too…

Closing my eyes, I inhaled and exhaled quietly. That man's such a nightmare in a sad, comedic way, I almost feel sorry for him. Almost… especially since I can't feel like taking him seriously at all.

I opened my eyes to look back out the window. I then frowned, narrowing my eyes as I pressed myself a bit closer to the window.

Wait… wait, who's that?

At the very front of the five God-Generals and talking with the guards is another man. No… that's definitely not Asch. Then who…

I squinted to try and get a good look at him.

The man… looks to be from his early to late twenties from the looks of it. And… I'm not sure, especially considering my position, but I _think _he stands at around Luke's height. He appears to be a little taller than Sync and Legretta… though I remember the latter wearing heels like Tear's too.

He was wearing a long, black sleeved dress-coat with silver trims and some familiar patterns on it: quickly reminding me of the design of the Oracle Knights of the order of Lorelei. His shirt exposes his upper chest and has a silver collar, and the ends of his sleeves seemed to flare out a little. The man wore white pants underneath his shirt, and I also noticed that he wore a short black vest with a cape that fell to his lower back behind it. Finally, he wore silver boots, and around his waist, he also wore a large, white belt with a silver buckle. Strapped on either side of his belt are two sheaths: obviously for his weapons.

I moved my gaze up to examine the man's face next. He is pale, and possessed short, inky black hair with some of them framing and falling loosely into his face like bangs, in which he would brush them out of the way with an ungloved hand. I can't tell his eye-color from here…

…but I can shamefully tell that he's quite… handsome. Damn it… what's wrong with me…? For all I know, he'll probably end up fighting us later or something. Okay, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions to early, but if he's hanging out with the God-Generals… then he just screams trouble for our party.

But… who the hell, seriously? Who the hell _is_ he? I don't remember him from the game! I don't recognize him at all!

Of course… I know that this isn't a game anymore, but still…

I guess it's because I wanted to keep the sense of predictability with me. Because the 'meta-knowledge' (I suppose I could call it that… it sounded right in a way) about this world and the more important people that will be involved makes me feel at ease in a way. Because I can be prepared on the inside of what's to come, and what's to expect.

…I guess knowing what could happen next in this world is what's keeping me sane right now. I can find a bit of comfort at that.

So when I saw that man, who looked like someone important from the looks of it, associated and hanging out with the God-Generals of all people, the people who I know who are going to do whatever it takes to get in our way… it makes me… uncomfortable.

I watched the man talked to the Oracle Knights at the gates a while longer, before giving them a nod and turning towards all the members of the God-Generals and started speaking to them. I watched with faint interest as Dist made some peculiar hand motions, which prompted Sync to turn over to him and say something in response. Whatever it is that he said, Dist started throwing a violent tantrum.

Dist immediately calmed down when the dark-haired man said something to him though, and Sync turned his head away when that man turned to look at him to say something as well. That done, he turned to Legretta and Largo and the three exchanged some words. Finally, after a bit more talking between all six of them, I saw the dark-haired man had finally raised a hand and motioned for all the Oracle Knights to move out.

"They're all leaving," I heard Luke say. He sounded both glad and relieved as we all watched the Oracle Knights and the God-Generals move away from Saint Binah: probably heading back to the Tartarus and towards their next location.

"They all moved out…" Ion stated, pulling away from the wall and letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

"So that means we don't have to sneak around or hide anymore, right?" Luke asked to make sure.

"Yeah, I think so," I replied, frowning as I still stared out the window as everyone else retreated away from it and back to their original spots before they all moved. That man…

"This is the first time I've seen the Six God-Generals," Guy commented, and I finally turned around to look at everyone in the room. Guy took his place back on top of the bed as he picked up Luke's coat again to continue fixing it.

"Who are the six God-Generals?" Luke asked from his place seated one of the other beds in the room.

"The six executive officers of the Oracle Knights," Ion answered helpfully. He then frowned. "But one of them is missing."

"Huh?" Luke blinked. "But weren't there six of them in front of the gates?"

But Ion shook his head. "The man you saw with black hair is the commander of special operations of the Order of Lorelei: Nocturne."

Nocturne, huh…?

…Wait. Commander of special operations? I though Asch had that position alongside being a God-General! What is going _on? _Do they have more than one special operation commander? For some reason, I seriously doubt that, but I could be wrong… but… Argh, this is so confusing!

As I rested the back of my head against the wall behind me, Guy started to list of all the names of the God-Generals.

"There's Largo the Black Lion, Dist the Reaper, Sync the Tempest, Arietta the Wild, Legretta the Quick, and Asch the Bloody."

"So which one is missing?" Luke asked.

"The one missing would be Asch the Bloody," Ion said, looking down on his lap. "You all know Largo as the tallest one back on the Tartarus, and you fought against Arietta and Legretta when you were trying to rescue me."

"Back when we were attacked on the bridge aboard the Tartarus while trying to regain control of it, Nocturne was the one who showed up with Ion captive after Luke, Tear and Samantha were knocked out," Jade informed all of us. "He called the one who attacked us 'Asch'. I identified his face, and I did not see him in that group."

I noticed that both Ion and Jade were refusing to look at Luke at that: being the only ones who have seen Asch's face. Of course, I know what Asch looked like too, but_ they_ did not know that.

…Ah… so Nocturne was the one who brought Ion to the bridge to let Jade know that he's been captured: not Legretta. No wonder she looked so surprised to see Tear when we were fighting her: she did not get a chance to see her the first time, nor did she even know that Tear's onboard the Tartarus.

Jade continued, "I had identified the one with the gaudy clothing as Dist the Reaper in the past. So the one remaining, the masked one, is Sync the Tempest."

"Man…" I leaned back further against the wall. "The Maestro Faction are going all out to get Ion back and stop us…"

"The Six God-Generals are Van's immediate subordinates," Tear stated, crossing one arm below her chest and raising her other hand to her chin.

Luke's eyes widened in shock at that. "_Master Van's_?"

"If the Six God-Generals are taking action, then the one who's trying to cause a war is Van…" Tear decided firmly, her eyes narrowed.

"The Six God-Generals side with the Grand Maestro," Ion reminded her gently. "Mohs is likely giving orders to Van."

Tear shook her head at that. "Grand Maestro Mohs would never do something like this. My mission for the Grand Maestro is top secret, so I can't divulge any details. However, I assure you it is one of peace."

Luke punched the bed he was on before standing up angrily. "Wait a minute! Master Van wouldn't try to cause a war either!" He protested adamantly.

"It's just the sort of thing my brother might do," she shot back at him.

As it does Mohs. Van _and _Mohs are both the guilty party in their own way. However, if I told them that, then both Luke _and _Tear would be mad at me. As such, I stayed quiet.

"What are you saying?" Luke demanded, before pointing at her with his eyes narrowed. "What about you, huh? How do we know you're not a spy working for that Mohs guy?"

"Please, settle down," Ion coaxed in a soft yet firm voice, moving a hand in a 'calm down' motion.

Guy nodded in agreement to Ion. "He's right. Now's not the time to be worried about Van or Mohs. Right now, we need to get past the Six God-Generals and their commander to prevent this war."

Tear nodded, sighing quietly. "…You're right. I'm sorry."

Luke turned his head away, crossing his arms and falling back onto the bed. "…Humph. I'm not accepting the apology of anyone who badmouths Master Van."

"Well, now that THAT'S over, everyone, do what you want to. We won't be leaving for Kaitzur until tomorrow morning," Jade piped up, holding his hands up.

Guy shook his head at that. "You're unbelievable…"

"Then, unless there's something else important to talk about, I'm going now," I said as I made my way towards the door.

As soon as I reached out to grab the door-knob however, I heard Ion ask, "Are you alright?"

I paused, staring at the door in front of me. "Of course. Why do you ask, Ion?"

"For the most part of the conversation, you were pretty quiet," I heard him say. "Are you sure there isn't anything troubling you?"

I shook my head in response. It's not like I can explain my feelings with them without looking suspicious.

"Ah… heh…" I forced on a smirk as I turned back to face him. "No~. Of course not. I'm fine, really. I just couldn't find a moment in the conversation to speak up, is all. You worry too much, Ion. Just get some rest and look after yourself, alright?"

Ion doesn't look convinced, though. "But…"

"Leave her," Luke piped up. "Seriously, Ion, you're just thinking too much for nothing."

I gave Luke a simple nod before turning around and opening the door. "I'm fine, Ion, but thank you for your worries anyway," I said honestly as I walked out and closed the door behind me. Sighing I made my way over to the room I shared with Tear: unlocking the door, entering the room and closing the door behind me.

Removing the straps of my satchel from over my shoulder, I placed it next to my bed before I allowed myself to slump onto the mattress.

What am I worried about…? It's just one guy. One new commander…

…One new enemy to deal with. No doubt. If Nocturne's with the God-Generals… no doubt, he'd try to help stop our party as well.

With that line of thought… how much of the story will change if he's around? Something that I won't expect to happen could occur at any time now. That really bothers me… I like to be able to predict everything that could and would happen.

What else could change…? Did my presence here in this world affect it in some way? Oh… that sounded a bit too vain. I can't believe that someone like me is responsible for any changes that occur.

_Then… what of Nocturne, then?_

I sighed, moving up the bed so that my head could rest on the pillow. Turning around, I rested on my stomach and wrapped my arms around my pillow as I buried my face into it and closed my eyes.

Maybe I'm just worrying too much... Maybe I'm just overthinking things… but I couldn't help it. I'm concerned about the possibility of the new changes that occurred will affect me in some way.

…No… I shouldn't think on it. I should just keep my guard up and expect the unexpected. That's all I need to do, right?

Right.

Nodding to myself and feeling somewhat better after thinking that, I got up from the bed and grabbed my bag from the side of the bed.

Maybe I should distract myself by going on a walk alone. Hopefully there's something interesting in Saint Binah that I haven't checked out yet.

* * *

After I had left the inn, I had walked over to the part of the town that Luke and I hadn't been to yet. It may just be me, but this part of town seemed much livelier.

There are some more private houses here, a flower shop, a clothing shop, an accessories shop, a small weapon shop and so on. …Ah… is this some kind of shopping district, then? I could even see a small restaurant or two here, judging by the giant signs and the amount of people walking in and out of them.

Giving all the houses and shops here a quick glance, I continued on. I doubted I had enough money to purchase any kind of luxury items for now, especially for the grocery shopping Luke and I did earlier today. That thought made me sigh slightly. I should get a part-time job or something…

After a few minutes of aimless walking and sight-seeing, I soon reached the far wall of this area. But what caught my attention however, is the large building located against the wall. Its wide double doors were left wide open, with some people walking in and out of it. Potted flowers were placed on each window sill, and a large wooden sign written in the Fonic Alphabet hung above the building's doors.

Well… since people are walking in and out of it so freely, I guess it can't hurt to go in and take a look at what it was. It doesn't look like a giant shop or a restaurant or anything like that. With that in mind, I walked towards the giant building and entered it.

Inside, the floors are made out of wood while the walls were made out of bricks. Situated close to the entrance doors was a large reception counter with many people working behind it. To the right of the room were some couches and wooden tables. I saw a few bookshelves placed against the far side of the wall there as well.

All over the walls up ahead of me are wooden bulletin boards, with several papers pinned there for all to see. Some people were standing in front of them: talking to each other as they pulled out certain papers before taking them over to the reception counter to do… whatever it is they do here.

Shaking my head, I stepped further into the room, feeling lost. What the hell is this place, anyway? Whatever it is, this place is packed…

After giving the place another look around, I noticed that everyone here had their own weapons with them, as well as different attire of clothing. Some of them don't look like normal civilians… they look more like travelers or fighters, at least from what I could tell.

I walked over to one of the bulletin boards and stopped before it... though I don't know what that could accomplish, seeing as I can't even read what's written on the papers pinned up. From what I could tell however, is that they're all different in a way.

I glared at all the papers in front of me, trying to command the alien characters into proper English so I can actually read them without any troubles. But alas… I don't have those kind of powers, so I'm just glaring at the papers for no reason.

"Can't decide what job to take?" a soft male's voice asked from my right. Blinking in surprise, I quickly turned and gave him a sheepish look.

"S-Sorry! I was just… ah…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say. I can't just go around and tell people I can't read now, can I? It's like walking around your home country and saying that you don't know how to read English… or in my case, Thai.

"You need any help?" He asked politely.

"No, I… well… actually…" I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Actually, I… I do need help. Um… what is this place?"

The man's eyebrows rose up in surprise at that before he gestured me to follow him. "We're kind of getting in other people's way, so let's sit over there."

"Ah, sure," I replied as I followed him to one of the empty couches in the giant room. After we both took a seat, I examined the man in front of me.

He was a clean and tidy man: having short, shaggy black hair and no other facial hair of the sorts. He possessed ice-blue eyes, tanned skin, a lean build, and appears to be around Luke's height. He seems to be in his early twenties, I believe.

His clothing consists of loose white pants held up by a belt, and a black sleeveless overcoat with blue trims. He seems to be wearing a blue shirt underneath his overcoat from what I could tell. Finally, he has black boots, and I could see a very long sheath strapped diagonally to his back.

After making himself comfortable, the man looked over to me, looking a bit… confused. Oh, great… this should be something everyone should be aware of, isn't it?

"Are you… not familiar with mercenary guilds?" he asked, still keeping his voice polite. Well… that's good, I guess. I would be really offended if he starts treating me like an idiot (even though I have a good reason to be unaware of certain things in this world, I won't tell him THAT).

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. Mercenary guilds? Do they really have things like that here in this world as well? I don't remember the game mentioning something-

No… stop. How many times do I have to remind myself that this isn't a game anymore until I get it?

I shook my head, unable to make eye-contact with him. I was feeling that embarrassed. "I… uh… I'm…" C'mon, Sam! Think of a good lie and excuse, quick! "I… I'm still new to this adventuring thing. Just recently started on my own, so…"

Whew… that sounded plausible enough… hopefully…

The dark-haired man gave me an odd look for a few moments before finally shrugging. "Then, do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Please," I answered quickly. "Like I said… I'm new at these kind of things, and I really wanted to learn the ropes, especially since I'm… ah… still a… rookie traveler, so to speak."

He snorted in mild amusement at that. "A 'rookie traveler' huh…?"

I felt myself getting more embarrassed at that. Is this guy secretly poking fun at me? "…Are you going to tell me… or not?"

"Sorry, sorry…" he smiled at me apologetically. "Well, first thing's first. I'm Nathan, a traveling mercenary."

"Samantha," I introduced myself, looking up and giving him a nod.

Nathan nodded in return before gesturing with his head towards the bulletin boards with the papers pinned all over them.

"Mercenary guilds like this one can be found in almost every city all over Auldrant. Travelers like myself would often come to these places looking for a job to earn money, especially if we plan to go on a long journey. Those papers over there on the bulletin boards are job requests submitted in by members of the local public, and it is up to us to decide which one we should accept. The jobs submitted varies, from gathering ingredients from a dangerous area, to delivery jobs, to guarding caravans, to escorting a person somewhere as their protection, to killing a local monster causing problems and so on. The more dangerous the requests, the better the pay."

Nathan looked over to see if I understood so far.

I nodded, then asked a question, "So… anyone can accept a job?" I was hopeful.

Nathan shook his head, looking a bit amused. "You're jumping ahead a bit. Let me explain a few more things first, alright?"

When I nodded again in response, he continued. "First, the procedures. First off, you need to actually sign up to become a mercenary and get your license. Next, when you choose a job and successfully completed it, you would earn 'points'. The number of 'points' given depends on the job. All the points you earned will be stored into your license by some kind of fon-machine. Don't ask how, I don't know either. A company secret, they say. Anyway," he shrugged, "If you stored enough points, you would rise up one rank and the process continues. Since some jobs can be either too dangerous or too important, one needs to be high in rank enough to be approved to do those kind of jobs."

"I… I get it…" I nodded slowly, absorbing all the information in.

"And that brings me back to your question… you have to be at least 20 years old to get your mercenary license, since that's the age when one is considered to be a legal adult," Nathan informed casually.

Dammit! I'm only seventeen! But… but I really needed a job like this, or else I'll never earn my own money and would have to resort to mooching off of the others for the rest of the journey!

"Are you up for it? Um, sorry… are you even old enough yet?" Nathan tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Yes," I said assertively. "I'm twenty."

…Now, what was that Japanese word that would best suit me right about now…?

…Oh yeah.

Usotsuki, usotsuki.

I'm such a liar, liar pants on fiiire…

…Well, to be fair… it's a good white lie. I mean… I'm helping the party out in my own way by doing this so I won't have to mooch off of them, so they should be grateful. Grateful I say, grateful!

Nathan smiled easily at that before he stood up. "Then, do you want to really sign up for this? I'll help you out if you want me to."

I stood up as well, giving him a forced smile. I'm feeling bad for having to lie to him already, but it was necessary. I really needed the job…

"Please," I said sweetly, unable to look him in the eye. "I need that, since I'm new and all. Thanks…"

"Think nothing of it," Nathan assured me before he walked towards the reception desk. "Come on. We need to sign you up and get your license first."

I followed him over there, wriggling my hands nervously the entire way. What if I can't do the jobs given to me? What will I do when I can't read the job-requests?

I felt my heart quicken a bit as I clasped my hands together in front of my chest. What if they found out my lie?

But no… I can't back out now. Whatever happens happens. And if I get this job, I'll figure something out about the Fonic Alphabet thing. At least if I get this job, I might feel more motivated into learning it faster.

Nathan and I were now standing before the reception counter where one of the staff was seated behind.

She was a busty, slender woman with fair skin, long chocolate-brown hair and light-brown eyes hidden behind a pair of pointed glasses. The bangs of her hair were short, and were parted in both ways. Her long hair was, for the most part, loose, but there was a tiny pigtail tied at the back of her head. Two strands of her hair from either side of her head were pulled back and tied together, as well.

She was wearing a long, yellow tight skirt and a coat of the same color. I could easily see the white shirt she wore underneath her coat: exposing a decent amount of cleavage. Enough to show the curves of her large breasts, but not enough for it to be considered sleazy. She was wearing some pale reddish-brown lipstick as well.

I would have found her to be really beautiful if she doesn't has that extremely stern, sharp and sour look in her eyes, that bored expression on her face, her somewhat slouching posture, and the fact that she's chewing on some gum rather loudly.

"Miss Kiren?" Nathan asked softly, smiling at her despite her grouchy air and appearance. "Do you have a minute?"

I don't know why Nathan asked her that when it's obvious that she's not doing anything despite smacking gum and glaring at the papers in front of her. Ah, it's probably just him being polite, I guess. Hell, everything about Nathan just screams 'gentlemen' in my opinion, especially with the vibe he's giving off. He's even helping me, a clueless stranger that he just met.

The woman, Kiren, looked up with a scowl and a glare. When she saw Nathan however, her features softened a bit. But only a bit.

"Nathan? Doing another job today? Didn't you just finish one early this morning?" She asked in a deep, adult-like feminine voice.

Kiren smiled at him. "Aren't you a hard-working man? But that's an admirable trait, so it's nothing bad."

Nathan shook his head. "No, that's not it. Actually," he placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'm just helping a friend out. Samantha here is going to start working as a mercenary from today. Could you please give her a license? She's old enough."

I felt nervous when Kiren turned and gave me a dry, observing look. She flicked a gaze over my body once before she turned back to Nathan.

"She doesn't look like much," she told Nathan, clearly unimpressed.

"I'm sure she would do fine," Nathan assured her. "Besides, I'll be helping her out."

Kiren's shoulders slumped slightly before they moved in a shrugging motion. "Oh, very well. But I'm only trusting _your_ judgment here, Nathan."

"I'm sure she won't make you regret it." He nudged me slightly at that. "You won't, right, Samantha?"

"Ah…" I quickly put on a smile and bowed ever-so-slightly. "I… I promise to do my best."

"See?" Nathan turned to Kiren again, who still didn't look too impressed. To my credit however, she shrugged again.

"Fine. Just don't get yourself injured, do you understand?" She sniffed, getting off her chair and walking towards the back room. "I don't want to hear any complaints if a job's too hard or anything else like that!"

"Ah…" I watched Kiren disappear into the back room and sighed. "I wonder if this is a really good idea…"

"Don't mind her," Nathan said, patting my shoulder a few times before pulling it away. "It's nothing personal, she's always just like that to almost everyone."

"You know her well?" I asked, curious.

"For a while, yeah," Nathan responded, waving a hand. "She's like that towards me at first too. I didn't pay it much mind, though. I get the feeling that she's just unsatisfied with her life and wanted to find something that she really wanted to do but couldn't find the chance to."

"…You really believe that…?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "…I think you're just being too nice, Nathan. But…" I smiled slightly shrugging. "…I guess… no wonder she seems to like you."

Nathan opened his mouth to say something in response to that when the door to the back room opened again and Kiren walked back out with something in her hand.

She took a seat in her chair again before she looked down and did… something. I can't see behind her desk since it's a bit high, but from the sounds of it… I think some kind of fon-tech was being used. Probably the one Nathan had mentioned earlier. I could hear some typing as well. Okay, now I'm seriously curious.

Before I could stand on my tip-toes to get a better look, Kiren looked up at me.

"Name?" She asked simply. Didn't Nathan already mention my name to her…? Oh, does she want my full name?

…Well, my real surname is not actually... well… normal. So… I guess I'll change my surname to my common nickname instead, not to mention sound weird. Why not? It's not like they'll be able to find my birth certificates or anything.

"Samantha Loy," I answered, smiling sheepishly. Heh… putting the fact that I'm lying about a few certain things aside… this is actually… _fun_.

After Kiren 'typed' (sounds like she's doing something like that) in a few more things, she finally finished: holding a bronze card out to me.

"You're now an official mercenary: Beginner Rank. Congratulations," she said in an unenthusiastic tone of voice as I slowly took the card from her. "When you decide to accept a certain job-request, come to me for the details. When you're done with that job, come back to report your success to me after getting your pay from your client."

"Th-Thank you…" I bowed my head to her in gratitude. She merely blew out a tiny bubble with her gum before popping it so she could start chewing it in her mouth again. She waved a hand in a dismissive motion and that was our cue to leave.

As we walked away from the reception desk, I examined my new license. It was a hard, solid but flat card that has a bronze color. It has only a few things written in the Fonic Alphabet in it, and at the very bottom of the card, there was a long, horizontal black bar that reminds me of a bar code. Maybe that's where the 'points' are stored and added to…?

"As you can see, your license has your name and your ranking title on it. That black strip you see down there can be used to add the points you earned by using only that special fon-machine I told you about. When you earn enough certain number of points, you go up one rank," Nathan said as he guided me to an empty spot in the giant room to avoid blocking other people's way or them bumping into us.

"Don't lose it," he cautioned me seriously. "If you did, someone, probably another female, would take advantage of your rank and get the higher-paying jobs, and all your work will be for nothing. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," I promised with a small salute. The dark-haired man snorted in amusement at that as he shook his head.

"Well, anyway, are you up for giving your first job-request a try?" he asked, smiling.

I thought about it. Well, it's not like I have anything else to do until dinner time, and we won't be leaving until tomorrow morning. Plus, I think it's a good idea to do my first job request, just so I get the gist of it and not risk missing anything.

"Yeah, I'm up for it," I said, nodding with a smile. "Um… mind if you help me select one?"

Nathan chuckled at that. "Well, if you really want me to. Here, let's go over to that first bulletin board. That one has all job-requests for beginners."

"Really?" I asked as we walked over to the bulletin board he pointed out. "So… wait… is there by chance each bulletin board contains the job-requests for a certain rank?"

"Correct," Nathan confirmed. "It will be easier for each person to find the job they can and wanted to do that way."

Yeees! At least that way I don't have to read. I'll just pick a random job-request and go with it. How bad can it be?

"Here we are… the bulletin board with the beginner rank job requests," Nathan murmured as we stood in front of the Beginner's bulletin board. "So… go ahead. Pick the one job you want to do first."

I couldn't help but smirk a bit in amusement at that. Well, that would be easy… especially since I can't read squat in the first place.

"I want," I reached up, pointing at one of the many papers pinned up, "this one. Is this okay, you think?"

He leaned over slightly to read the one I picked out. "Alright, not bad." He removed the pin that hung the paper on the board with one hand and took the job-request with his other. That done, he put the pin back in its place.

I took the job-request from him when he handed it over. "Next, we go to the reception counter for details about this job. It's just written in there that it'll be an ingredient gathering job, the price reward, the number of points you could earn if you're successful in this job, and the name of the person who sent in this job-request."

Ingredient gathering, huh? That doesn't sound too hard.

We made our way back to the counter to talk with Kiren again, who looked up when we stood in front of her.

"Already found a job, huh?" She asked, adjusting her glasses with two fingers.

"Could you give us more details about this job, Miss?" I asked politely, holding the job-request out to Kiren, who took it and skimmed it once with her eyes.

"Ah, this one is from the main chef of the Mountain Moss restaurant. You know where that is, right?" She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow at that.

Nathan answered before I could. "Of course. Have more faith in us, Miss Kiren," he said that last part in a joking manner.

Kiren rolled her eyes lightly at that, handing the job-request back to me. "I'll make my own full opinion only when she's done with her job. Anyway, the chef needs someone to gather some food ingredients. Go visit him to see what ingredients he needed."

"Thank you…" I mumbled, giving her an appreciative nod. Hey… even if she is kinda rude, she's still helping out. Plus, I wouldn't want to risk her to make my job harder just because I'm being rude right back at her and give her a reason to hate me.

"Let's go. Nathan, you'll show me the way, right?" I asked, turning to face the dark-haired man beside me.

He quickly nodded. "Of course. I need to make sure you'll be alright especially since it's your first job."

"So…" I started to say as the both of us walked out of the guild and back into the early afternoon sun. "Nathan, how long have you been living here in Saint Binah?"

"For a few weeks now," Nathan answered casually as he led me towards the direction of what I believed is to the Mountain Moss restaurant. "Wanted to take a break from my travels before moving on to my next destination. I'll be leaving town at some point later. And you?"

"Ah, just travelling with a group of friends. We just arrived here earlier today for a break," I answered honestly. "I… we'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Nathan's eyebrows flew up at that. "That quickly? What's the rush?"

"We… have urgent business to attend to." I rubbed the back of my neck at that. I shouldn't give away too much information about what our group was really doing. Who knows what could happen?

Having stopped in his tracks, Nathan turned his head to give me an odd look and I nearly winced in response. Oh shoot… don't tell me he's not buying it. And here I thought that he was someone too trusting.

"…What kind of business?" He asked slowly, an eyebrow raised.

I waved a hand in hopes that he'll just drop the subject. "It's a long story. We just have business in Kimlasca."

Tear used that excuse once, didn't she? There's nothing wrong with traveling into another country for business. Plus, it's not like I'll be telling him just exactly what it is that we're doing. If I go "Oh hey, we're trying to stop a WAR" then won't news like that get leaked out and people will start to panic?

Nathan still gave me the same odd look, but eventually sighed and shrugged before continuing his way down the streets.

"Since you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry into your business too much," Nathan said as I walked beside him. "I'll respect your privacy as long as your respect mines, alright?"

"Sounds fair enough," I remarked with a smile. "Thanks. But… I promise it's not something bad or anything. I mean…!"

"Alright, alright, I get your point," he chuckled. "Relax, Samantha. I don't believe you're that kind of person anyway. I'm sure it's just an uncomfortable topic for you. Everyone has that."

"You say that… even though we just met?" I asked skeptically.

"I can just sense the vibe you give off," Nathan answered casually, as if it wasn't anything strange at all. "But putting that aside, you're heading to Kimlasca next? That's too bad… I can't guarantee that we'll be able to meet again so soon."

"I… might be coming back here to Saint Binah at one point," I answered, shrugging. "Maybe I'll see you... if you're still around, that is."

"Maybe. If I'm not here, I'll probably be hanging around at… Grand Chokmah, I think," he ruminated.

"Looks like only time will tell then," I commented, and we both then fell into silence at that.

Now let's see… when's the next time we'll be coming back to Saint Binah? After Akzeriuth, it'll be… um… Daath? Then… Daath, Grand Chokmah and then...

Oh… oh my God.

The next time we'll be coming back here… the entire town will be sinking into the Qliphoth. Oh no… oh God no…

Can we really rescue everyone from here? This town is much, much large than the game portrays, and there are many more people living here. Can the Albiore really hold them all? What is we missed someone?

What will happen to everyone I met here? Ren, Glin, Kiren, Nathan, that boy we talked with earlier today, that woman at the grocery store… will they all be alright?

My chest tightened up, and I placed a hand over my mouth. What can I do? Is there _anything_ I could do? I can't just tell everyone about what will happen in the future. They'll all just ask questions that I can't answer and they'll probably believe I'm crazy. They wouldn't believe me.

Dammit… is there really nothing I can do besides waiting to let it happen and hope it all went exactly like the game did-_arrrrggghhh!_ Again, I'm tying this reality to a game _again! _This is real life: can we really save a town with who-knows-how-many hundreds of people?

"What's the matter?" I heard Nathan asked. When I looked up, the both of us were standing in front of a large building in which I guessed is the Mountain Moss restaurant.

I shook my head quickly. "Nothing, nothing! Nothing is wrong! I'm fine," I lied.

Nathan gave me a dry look at that. "You really expect me to believe that?"

"It's… nothing. It's just…" Think, Sam, think. "…just nervous, is all. What if I screw this first job of mine up?"

Nathan let out what seemed to be a relieved sigh at that. "Is that all?" He asked with amusement, laughing. "You'll be _fine. _Trust me."

If only the real issue was as easy as he says it is.

I forced on a smile to assure him. "Right. We're going in, right?"

He shook his head. "Since we're here to do a job, it's better if we take the back entrance," he explained, before he gestured me to follow him. We walked around to the side building and over to its back, where a lone door was located.

Nathan stepped up to it, knocking on the wooden door. "Is anyone there? We're people from the guild to do the job-request you sent in!" He called out loudly.

The door opened a few seconds later, and a middle-aged man in a chef's attire stepped out and looked at the both of us expectantly.

"So, you two are the ones who'll get the ingredients for me, huh?" he asked in a gruff-like voice. Despite the sound of his voice however, his tone was almost chirpy.

"Yes. We are. Sorry, please excuse us if we're interrupting anything," I apologized, my hands clasped together.

"No, this is just as important as cooking for the customers," the chef said dismissively as he waved a hand. "Alright, I'll get to the point since business is still running well over here. I'm running low on certain ingredients that you can't easily get from Engeve. And for that, I need fighters to go and get them fresh."

"What… kind of ingredients do you need?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.

"Hold on a sec."

Both Nathan and I exchanged a glance with each other when the chef walked back inside the building. Moments later, he came back out: holding some small metal boxes in his hands.

He handed them over to us with a huge smile. "I owe you two for this. Now, here's what you need…"

* * *

"Okay, I could understand getting a bunch eggs and sketchy chicken from Chirpees, and lots of pork from Rhinossus monsters… but why Tataroo grass from these guys too?" I demanded loudly as I stabbed the Filifolias in front of me with both my daggers.

"For spices and certain medicines, I believe!" Nathan called out from where he was leaning against a tree far off to the side, watching me with a frown. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"_Yes!" _I shouted, kicking the corpse of the one I just killed away before plunging one of my daggers into the body of another Filifolias that had tried to attack me. "I told you, didn't I? You already helped a lot, and it's my job: so let me do at least this on my own!"

Turns out that the ingredients that the chef back at Saint Binah needed are things you can get from killing monsters: and a good amount of them, too. The metal boxes he gave us are supposed to be used to put the ingredients inside of them for safe-keeping, as well as to carry easier.

When we were finished with talking to the chef, Nathan and I had left Saint Binah and deep into the woods close to the town. After walking for a while, we both had reached a large clearing in the woods, which is where we are now.

As soon as we arrived here, Nathan had pulled out a glass bottle from his backpack and had poured it all over the area. A Dark Bottle, I would realize later. He said that the monsters would be attracted to the smell and come to us faster. When they come, we kill and (I'm not looking forward to this part) skin the meat off their corpses. Or, in the Filifolias' case, just pluck the leaves from their heads. We'll be saving the eggs for last, since we just need to find a Chirpee's nest and take some from there.

The liquid of the Dark Bottle was… unappealing at the very least. It was a dark, vile dark yellowish-brown color. It smells strange and overall, it reminded me of urine.

I raised an arm over my head when a Chirpee flew past over my head as another pecked me from behind. I flailed my arms around madly as I tried to land a swipe on one of those flying enemies but that didn't do much.

Scowling, I dropped my arms and waited. I waited until one of the Chirpees flew straight towards me. When I felt it had gotten close enough, I quickly flicked my arm up and allowed the blade of my dagger to slice it up its belly. It squawked and stopped beating its wings for a moment: making it fall to the ground.

Pushing back any pity I might feel for it, I quickly stomped down on one of the Chirpee's wings hard enough that I heard something snap beneath my foot: making it cry loudly in pain. Still keeping my foot pressed down on its wing, I knelt down and quickly thrust my dagger down onto its skull and killing it instantly.

"_Ack!"_

I grunted when I felt the sharp beak of the other Chirpee cut through my cheek as it flew past my head. Carefully rubbing my cheek with the back of my hand, I looked up to see it started to fly back towards me. I threw my arms up to cover my head in case it started to peck and fly past me again.

Instead of doing that however, it stopped in front of me from what I could hear (I could hear its wings flapping somewhere in front of me). Next thing I knew, I felt it start to peck away at my arms.

"Ow ow _ow!"_

I swung an arm at it, managing to catch it by the side and sending it flying to the ground with a thud. It flapped its wings, managing it lift itself from the ground a feet or two before I was quickly on it.

"Oh, no you don't!"

I plunged my dagger down onto its back and pinned it to the ground. Just to make sure it stays dead, I plunged my other dagger onto the back of its neck. I let out a sigh of relief-

"_Shadow Tempest!"_

I jumped in shock when I heard Nathan's shout and a pained roar from behind me, and I swung around just in time to see a Rhinossus fall to the ground: dead.

I moved my gaze up in surprise to see Nathan standing before the dead monster and staring down on it. Twin Dao Blades were out and held in both of his hands, and I realized that they're his weapons.

Nathan looked up. When he saw me staring at him, he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I knew you wanted to do this job alone, but this one here was about to tackle and gouge you with its horns from behind, so I just _had_ to do something."

"Ah… really…" I breathed out, staring the Rhinossus' corpse in front of the dark-haired man. "Oh… oh my goodness, thanks then. Sorry."

"No need to apologize," he murmured as he looked around the area. When he saw that nothing's about to jump out and attack us for the moment, he knelt down by the dead body.

"Let's take what we need before he next group of monsters come," he said, positioning one of his blades above the Rhinossus' flesh. "Do you want to take the meat or should I?"

"Ahhh… you do it!" I squealed with a disgusted shudder. "I can't do that. I don't have the heart to do something like that!"

He looked up at me at that, his eyebrows raised. "How did you manage to get by, then?"

"Huh?" was my intelligent response.

"Come on," he tapped the tip of his blade against the Rhinossus' body a few times. "How do you earn money during your travels, especially if you just joined the mercenary guild today? What do you do with the monsters you kill?"

I frowned, confused. "…What do you mean? Um… I just leave them alone after I kill them, so what do you… mean…?"

Nathan was giving me a bewildered look now, and I squirmed uncomfortably at the look. What? What's wrong with that.

"You…" he started to say, but then stopped himself. "Hrm… did you by chance say that you've just started to travel on your own?"

"Uh… yeah," I confirmed awkwardly. "L-Like I said… I'm still new to all these things. Is… is something wrong?"

"Are you aware of how to earn Gald with each monster you kill?" Nathan asked, looking at me seriously.

"Uh…"

Realistically, I don't believe that monsters would drop any money after they've been killed off. I've been with the party since Cheagle Woods yesterday, and with the exception of the Oracle Knights we killed off, no one had checked the corpses of our fallen enemies.

But even then… Gald can still be earned in some way after killing monsters?

At the lost expression that's probably on my face, Nathan sighed before he started to explain.

"Certain parts of monsters can be sold in the nearest towns for money if you chose to bring them with you. For example, the meat you cut off can be sold in shops that sells food, the plants and leaves from monsters such as the Filifolias have certain medical properties, and bones can be used for items such as amulets, weapons, armors, synthesis and so on and so on." He looked up at me again. "It's a common thing to do among travelers."

"Oh…" I felt myself deflate. Great, now I feel like an idiot in front of him. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't… muu.." I hid my face into my hands when I felt it burning up. I'm now too embarrassed to look at him in the eye.

"Well, at least you're learning about it now," I heard him say. I looked up from my hands to see him staring at me with a small smirk. He then gestured me over.

"Come on. I need to teach you how to do this properly, so when you start traveling alone again, you won't have a problem." Nathan gestured towards my daggers. "Come on. I'll show you how it's done properly."

"Noooo! I don't wanna!" I whined, taking a step back and shaking my head rapidly. "I feel so bad for it!"

"You need to learn to do this for your own sake in the long-run, though," Nathan insisted. "Don't think about the monster… think about having a comfortable income you would get by doing this. I promise you that your adventures will become easier this way, especially if by chance you don't have any time to do mercenary work."

"Mou…" I groaned childishly, pouting. "I _really_ feel uncomfortable doing this..."

"Samantha… come on…" he pressed. "This is a basic thing that all travelers could and _need_ to do."

I stubbornly stood rooted on my spot for a few moments, until eventual I gave a sigh of resignation and grudgingly made my way over to kneel down by his side.

Nathan nodded in satisfaction at my decision to learn. "Alright, let's try to hurry before another monster comes along, and we still need to skin the meat off of those Chirpees and pull the grass from those Filifolias' heads. I'll wash the blood off the meat when you cut them off. We still have more to go, after all. Now, you take your dagger and do this…"

This… is going to be a loooong day…

* * *

Many (and I mean MANY) hours later, Nathan and I were back at Saint Binah: standing in the back-door of the Mountain Moss restaurant. The metal boxes given to us by the chef earlier were now filled with the ingredients he needed, and I my arms were completely sore all over.

By the time we had made it back here, it was already early evening, and the sky was now a light bluish-purple color now. And it was early in the afternoon, if I recall correctly, when we both left Saint Binah on our little hunt. Yeah, it took THAT long. Needless to say… I'm beat. Hopefully, on the bright side, it also means that I have gotten more experience in combat with the number of monsters I have to kill today with Nathan's help. Hopefully.

The chef we talked to earlier allowed us inside the building this time. When we entered through the back door, I saw that it was a large kitchen, with many cooks in chef attires running about and making meals.

By the chef's instructions, we both placed all the metal boxes containing the ingredients we gathered on an empty wooden counter, before having taken a step back to let the chef take a look inside all of them.

"Yes, yes… this all will do well," he murmured, nodding in satisfaction. I let out a heavy sigh of relief at that. If he said that he doesn't like the ingredients and didn't want to take them… I would seriously cry. All that hard work would have been for nothing.

I straightened up when the chef turned to face us with a smile, clapping his hands once. "Good work, you two! Now, for your payment! Just give me a few seconds to split the pay into half…"

"No need. You can give them all to her," Nathan quickly said, tilting his head towards me. I gaped before I turned to stare at him: shocked.

"What? No way! No no no, you helped too, so you should… it's fair if we split the pay into half, right?" I protested.

But Nathan shook his head, chuckling. "No… I only helped because I wanted to, especially since you're still learning the ropes. I would be worried if you went alone. Besides…" he shrugged. "It _is _your job. Go ahead and take it all."

"But…" I frowned. "I can't… it doesn't feel… right."

"I'm quite sure you need the money more than I do," Nathan remarked. "It's fine, don't worry. I have more than enough to support myself for a long while. Take it already."

"Here girl. Your payment," I heard the chef say. I turned to see him holding a wad of bills and coins, as well as the job request (but now has a giant sign that I'm sure wasn't there before) towards me. Wow… that's… a lot. I feel kind of guilty for taking them all, especially since Nathan helped out.

"Th-Thank you…" I said quietly, taking both the money and the job-request from him. I'm not sure what I should do with the job-request… I don't even know why he's returning it to me…

As if reading my mind (or having seen my puzzled look on the job-request), Nathan explained, "You need to take the job-request back to the guild and have a receptionist give you points for getting the job completed. Since it's signed by your client, it's a sign to say that you have both finished your job as well as gotten your payment. Now you just need to get the earned point stored in your license."

"Right…" I looked up at the chef and gave him a slight bow. "Thank you for the payment."

"Hope to do business with you guys again," the chef nodded. "Now, off you go! I still have a job to do after all!"

Both Nathan and I were shoo'ed out the back door and back out the evening air. The door behind us closed shut and I let out a sign of relief as I brought up my satchel to put away my newly gained money inside my purse.

"Hey, Nathan…" I called out as I brought out the small ruck-sack where my money would be kept in for the time-being. "Um… about the money… thank you. No, really, thank you, it really… it really was nice of you."

"Like I said, don't worry about it," he assured me. He waited for me to finish putting my money away in my satchel before he turned around. "Well, let's go back to the guild and do this one last thing."

"Yeah…"

With that, the both us had started to make our way back towards the mercenary guild. Lanterns hung up close to each house and buildings were already being lit up, and the streets had become calmer compared to how it was earlier in the day.

At first, it was quiet between the both of us as we walked back to the guild. However…

"...Hey, Nathan?" I asked, clasping my hands and looking down at the ground below me as we walked.

"Yes?"

I paused, hesitating. Should I really do it…?

"If… if you can't decide… I.. I think you should head to Grand Chokmah after a while," I mumbled, crossing my arms tightly.

Nathan looked over to me, a bit surprised. "Oh? Really? What makes you want me to do so?"

I shrugged: I don't have good explanation. I haven't even though of what I was going to say.

But… after all that he did for me today, Nathan's obviously a kind and considerate person. He helped and taught me a lot of useful things today. He even let me have the entire payment even though if he had stayed quiet, he would have gotten his share of the money as well.

And after all that, I haven't done anything to repay him back in a way yet. However…

…The least I could do now is to let have avoid getting caught up in the disaster that would befall Saint Binah later. I'm not sure if we'll be successful in getting all the townspeople out when this place will start to sink into the Qliphoth… but just in case… Nathan will remain safe through it all. Plus, out of all the possible people I could help now before the disaster… it's him.

After today… it's the very least I could do.

"I… I'm not sure when, but I seriously believe I'll end up there sooner or later: after the business I need to do in Baticul has been settled," I said slowly. I bit my lip, then continued, "Plus… it's a big and crowded city. I'm sure there're a lot of jobs to do there. And who knows? Maybe we'll see each other again there."

"Is that so?" Nathan looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "Is that so? You really think I should head over there soon?"

"I would… be comfortable if you did," I replied truthfully, looking away. "Ah, sorry. I must sound awkward and vague, aren't I? I'm not sure when my business at Baticul will be settled, and when I'll actually reach Grand Chokmah, but…" I trailed off, then shrugged. "I… I dunno. I mean… you don't… have to go if you don't want to. But…"

I fell silent again, inwardly kicking myself over and over. Stupid, stupid me, why did I have to be so…?

Nathan suddenly let out a chuckle. "Well, if you seriously want me to. Are you going to miss me that much already?" he said jokingly.

I felt my face heat up at that, and I slapped him on the arm. "Stupid! It's not like that, okay? Don't joke like that, I don't like it!" I yelled, flustered.

Nathan laughed louder at that as he held up one hand to fend any more possible slaps from me. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I just can't help it." He smiled. "Heh, fine, fine. I'll head over there soon. I was planning to head over there at one point anyway: I just have no idea of _when_ to do so."

I let out a relieved breath at that. Good… even if it's just one person… at least I'll be able to save someone. I shouldn't take risks and just rely on the game. This is reality: anything that I wouldn't expect could happen at any time.

I nodded in response to Nathan's statement. "Alrighty… cool."

We both finally reached the guild and entered through the double front doors before we made our way over to the reception counter where Kiren is. She looked up when we approached.

"I finished the job, ma'am," I told her politely, handing her the signed job-request.

She took it and turned to Nathan. "Well?" she asked expectantly. "How did it go? Did she give you any trouble?"

While I was offended, I just chose to kept quiet so that Nathan could answer instead.

"Not at all," he answered assertively. "She did well in her first job."

"Uh huh, sure she did," the brunette woman replied, obviously unconvinced. "Bet she needs you to help her out, correct? Anyway," Kiren held a hand out to me, "your license. I'll be giving you your points now."

"Ah, right," I said, fishing around in my satchel for a moment before pulling the bronze-colored card out and handing it to her. "Here you go."

Kiren took my license from me before moving her gaze down as she started to… add the points I earned by using that so-called special secret fon-machine.

Man… if that fon-machine is really as unique as it was made out to be, then Guy would have a seizure if he ever got his hands on one. Him and his Fon-Tech Mode…

Ah, not that I care. I'll always love the man either way. You know, because I am a TOTAL Guy fangirl at heart.

…Hopefully he won't find out about that, though. That would be embarrassing…

Speaking of which… the others are probably wondering where I am by now. I'll get back to the inn as soon as I'm done here.

"Done," Kiren mumbled as she handed my license back to me. After giving her a small 'thanks', I took my license back and slipped it back into my satchel.

"I've been meaning to ask Nathan, but when are you going to head to Grand Chokmah?" Kiren asked curiously, actually sounding… decent.

"I've thought about it, and I've decided to start heading there after a few more days," he answered. My eyebrows flew up at that. Oh, hey! He's actually taking my advice, yes!

Despite the fact that I'm jumping in joy at my accomplishment on the inside, I just settled for an awkward smile as I let the two talk. It'll be rude if I just leave without saying goodbye, so…

"Oh, is that so?" Kiren asked in disappointment, resting her cheek on a fist. She then perked up a bit. "Well, it's not like I can keep you here for too long. You youngsters are always coming and going nowadays. Well, it can't be helped." She gave him a small smile. "Just make sure to get me a souvenir or something when you get back, alright?"

"Sure," Nathan promised with a small laugh. "I'll see if there's something you like there."

"Haha, you're always so reliable, Nathan," Kiren's smiled widened as she chuckled. "Well, run along now."

I was glad when Nathan and I finally left the guild building and back into the evening air outside. When I looked over to Nathan, he looked a bit embarrassed.

"Hehe… I'm kinda jealous. She obviously likes you much, _muuuch_ more than me," I said with a grin. "Got something going on with her, Nathan?

From the lights that came from inside the guild, I could see his face has reddened slightly "No, of course not! It'll be quite… a bit awkward," he rubbed the back of his head. "Miss Kiren is much older than I am, anyway."

"Ohh, boy…" I shook my head, still grinning. "Yeah… it really must be. Too bad for you, us girls like clean and polite guys like you. So, um… tough luck?"

"Haha, very funny," Nathan drawled, rolling his eyes slightly. "I have… someone else in mind, anyway. So…"

"Ah, I see. Good for you, then." I nodded, before looking down the street. "Anyway… I'll be going back to the inn to my friends now."

"Do you want me to escort you?" Nathan asked, but I quickly shook my head. He really is a nice and caring man, this guy.

"No, seriously. You did enough to help me out today, Nathan. I can get back on my own." I turned to face him, holding my hand out. "Thanks for all the help you gave me today, Nathan. Seriously, I appreciate it all."

He nodded, reaching out and shaking my hand. "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Samantha. So… until next time, correct?"

"Yeah," I nodded with a smile as we both let go. "Until next time for sure. Take care, alright. Bye."

"Bye, Samantha. You be careful as well."

"I will."

* * *

"Samantha! You're back!" Ion said happily from his place on a table in the inn's lobby. He wasn't alone, as Mieu was seated atop on the table in front of him.

"Welcome back!" The baby blue cheagle chirped enthusiastically.

"Hey guys!" I called out jovially as I closed the inn door behind me before I made my way over to where they were. I took a seat in the free chair, leaning forward slightly and resting my cheek in one hand with a sigh.

Man… I'm beat… I just want to sleep already… after having dinner first, of course.

"Where have you been all day?" Ion asked casually, looking interested.

"I was working. Earning money," I smiled, feeling proud of myself. "Don't wanna mooch off of you guys too much, heh."

Ion chuckled at that. "Is that so?" He smiled. "Thank you for your hard work then."

He slumped in his seat ever-so-slightly. "Makes me feel like doing something else to help as well."

"What are you talking about, Ion?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "You're doing much, much more than me, for this party. At Daath, before this whole thing even started, and what will you do later on when we reach Kimlasca. Besides Luke, your voice will be the one he will listen to the most."

I looked down on the cheagle in front of me. "Right, Mieu?"

_"Mieeeuuu! _That's right!" The cheagle beamed, raising a paw up. "Ion~! You're as amazing as everyone else in the party is!"

We both laughed quietly at that, and I reached out to rub Mieu's head, who made a sound of content when I did.

"You've been gone for a while, though. Everyone was wondering where you were," Ion remarked, straightening up in his seat again.

"The job took longer than I expected," I replied truthfully. "I was out in the fields for who-knows-how-many hours before I got all the things I needed to get for my client."

I pulled my hand back from Mieu before slouching in my seat with a sigh. "I'm so beat. My arms… they're all _soooooore~_"

"But your job was successful, right?" Ion tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Yeah…" I smiled. "And the pay's totally worth it I believe, so… I shouldn't be complaining, right?"

"I'm sure everyone will appreciate your help when they know about what you did," Ion said, looking down and playing with the sleeve of his dress.

"Where is everyone, anyway?" I asked.

"Master went with Guy out into the fields just outside this town!" Mieu answered cheerfully. Those two probably went for a sparring match, I guess. "And Tear and Jade are out looking for a good restaurant we can eat at!"

"A place that we can afford as well," Ion added helpfully.

"So we're eating out?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. "Oh, cool! I'm looking forward to that. Haha…" I shook my head smiling. "Eating with you and the others… that'll be an experience I'll definitely never forget for the rest of my life."

"Oh?" Ion raised a leafy-green eyebrow, sounding amused. "Why is that?"

My smiled widened, and I placed both of my hands on the table as I leaned back slightly. "Welllll… I would have _never_thought that there would be the day where I would be eating with the Fon Master, a Malkuth Army Colonel, a Locrian Sergeant of the Oracle Knights, a baby cheagle, a young Kimlascan duke and his servant. What. A. Crowd."

In other words… I would never have thought that I'd be eating out with people who I once thought were just fictional game characters. If someone had told me that I'll be doing something like that just three days earlier… I would have thought that person to be insane. And yet… here I am now. I still can't almost believe it… it felt almost surreal to me.

We heard the door to the inn suddenly flew open, and I turned to see our favorite red-haired Kimlascan duke walk in, his blond friend right behind him.

"Oiiii~! Are we going to eat yet?" Luke whined loud enough for the entire room to hear. He came over and dropped himself into an empty seat next to me. "I'm starving to death over here!"

"Welcome back, you two," Ion, Mieu and I all surprisingly said at the same time. The three of us exchanged a look as Luke raised an eyebrow at us, and we all laughed.

"Man, you guys are weird," Luke commented bluntly as he leaned forward on the table: his head resting in his arms.

"Tear and Jade aren't back yet?" Guy asked, standing on the other side of Luke and far away from where I was sitting. Like all the other times, I just ignored it.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," Ion said with a nod. "Please, wait just a little longer."

"They better hurry it up!" Luke said with a huff, blowing his bangs out of his face. It didn't do much good though, as they only fell back into his face. "I'll have Guy go back to the manor and tell my father to sue them if I die of starvation just because they got _lost_!"

"Luke…" Guy chuckled nervously. "That's a bit too much, isn't it?"

"So if I die of starvation, nobody's going to say anything?" Luke asked incredulously, staring up at the blond male. "Man, that blows. I bet that Jade's trying to make me suffer as long as I can the best he could."

"I don't think…" Ion started to say.

"My, Luke, I can't believe you actually thought so ill of me!" Jade said dramatically, his head suddenly appearing between Luke and I.

Needless to say, we all screamed.

"_WH-WHAT THE HELL, JADE?"_I yelled after practically scrambling out of my chair and standing behind Ion: my hands on his shoulders as my heart hammered in my chest. I also vaguely noticed that Mieu was in Ion's lap: shivering.

"When did you…?" I heard Ion start to say before trailing off and shaking his head. What? Even Ion didn't see him come in? The person who has the best view of the entrance door out of all of us? Granted, his seat was facing sideways from the door, but still!

"_Where the hell did YOU come from?"_ Luke demanded from his place next to Guy, clutching one of his arms. Even Guy himself looked utterly shocked at Jade's sudden appearance. "_We didn't even hear you come IN!"_

It was then I saw Tear standing behind Jade, looking a bit… startled. Probably from when we all screamed our heads off when Jade practically popped out of seemingly nowhere. I swear, he must be a secret ninja or something.

Looking amused, Jade merely straightened up before pushing his glasses back up his nose with two fingers. He then crossed his arms, still smiling. Ohh… I can tell from the vibe he's giving off… he's feeling pretty darn satisfied with scaring the crap out of all of us.

"Ignoring the fact that the young master would believe that I would be as so cruel as to let the best person that will allow us to meet with King Ingobert suffer-" Luke scoffed in indignation at this, "-we have found a suitable place to eat. So, shall we get going?"

Stupid, Jade. Stupid, stupid Jade for scaring all of us while trying to get his revenge on Luke and then acting all casual and smug (I know he is, deep down) about it later.

* * *

"So… the Mountain Moss restaurant?" I laughed slightly several minutes later, after all of us had entered the aforementioned restaurant and had taken our seats. "Wow… talk about irony…"

"What do you mean by that?" Tear asked from her seat next to me.

We were seated in a six-people table. Me, Tear and Ion in that order on one side, and Guy, Luke and Jade on the other. Guy was seated across from me, Luke from Tear's and Jade from Ion's. Mieu was seated on top of the table, right between Luke and Guy (to the former's chagrin).

"Haha… nevermind," I smiled, hiding my face in my hands. I casually looked up when one of the waiters was about to walk by our table: holding a tray of dirty plates in his arms. When he saw me however, he did a double take.

"Hey, I think I know you!" he said, his eyes wide in recognition. "You're the one who took up the chef's job-request for gathering the ingredients we're low on just today, aren't you? You along with one man…"

I felt my face heat up when everyone at the table stared at me. "Uh… yeah. If you're talking about the person who brought back tons of eggs, pork, sketchy chicken and Tartaroo grass, that's me. My friend isn't here though."

"I thought the description matches you," the waiter remarked with pride. "The chef says if either you or the other guy happens to come by to eat here today, we should give you a discount for the help."

"A… discount?" I repeated, surprised. "Uh… wow. Thanks…?"

I guess what they say about kindness having its own reward is true. Wow… talk about good luck.

The waiter merely nodded before walking away and towards the back room, probably to wash the dishes he had been carrying just now.

The silence at the table didn't last long when it was broken by a question asked by Ion. "So… is that the job you said you have been doing earlier?"

"Heh… yeah…" I smiled awkwardly. For some reason… them knowing that I did something like that is kinda of awkward and embarrassing.

"So, _that's_ what you've been doing for most of today?" Guy asked, smiling with amusement. "I was wondering where you've gone missing to."

"Uh hah…" I laughed nervously, covering my face in my hands when I felt my face heating up again. "Yeah, sorry about that. The job just took longer than expected."

"Well, you doing that job proved to be beneficial to us, especially since we're getting a discount," Tear remarked, smiling slightly.

"…What's a discount?" Luke asked dryly. When everyone at the table stared at him, he seemed to nearly shrink away from all the gazes. "Wh-What?" he demanded.

Tear let out a quiet sigh. "That's right… Luke doesn't know much about how money works, does he?"

"I never had to pay for anything before, so it's not my fault!" Luke defended himself aggressively. "Don't look at me as if I'm an idiot!"

"Now, now, Luke… calm down," Guy consoled, placing a hand on his charge's shoulder. "I'll explain it to you in a minute."

The blond then looked over to me. "By the way, that waiter mentioned a man with you…?"

"Oh, that?" I smiled. "That's just… a friend I made today helping me out."

"You should have introduced him to us," Ion said, sounding just a tiny bit put off.

"Sorry, there just wasn't enough time," I replied, shrugging.

At that moment, another waiter has arrived. After we all gave our orders, Tear and Ion wanted to hear more details about the job I took earlier today while Guy explained what a discount was to Luke in the simplest way possible. Jade just listened to all of us, as did Mieu: the latter often inserting his own comments.

All this… spending time with these guys… I realize…

It's… relaxing.

I'm actually enjoying myself greatly for the first time since arriving here.

* * *

It was very early morning the next day when we were all woken up. Well, to be specific… I was woken up by Tear, who apparently always got up as early as Jade, the latter waking the guys of the group up so that we all could get ready to leave the town and make our way to Fubras River. We're probably way behind Anise already, so it's no wonder Jade wanted to speed things up a bit.

The sun was barely even up when we all had checked out of the inn and walked outside. Not many people were even up yet as we all made our way towards the Medicine Shop.

So here we are now, inside the Medicine Shop as we all waited for Ren to come out and meet us as promised. His friend, Glin, was already at the counter and looking wide-awake.

As I paid only an ear to Luke's grumbling about how too early it is, I tried to rid myself of my own sleepiness by rubbing my eyes.

"Ah, you all came!" Ren greeted happily as he walked out of the backroom behind the counter: a box of bottles with a pink substance inside. "Good! As promised, here are the things I promised to give you! Please, take them."

"What are those?" Tear asked as Ren placed the box on the counter and allowing Jade and Guy to start putting them away in their bags.

"I call them Melange Gels," Ren explained proudly. "It can replenish lost energy and cure mental fatigue. Think of it as a mix of an Apple Gel and an Orange Gel, if you would: purpose-wise. Anyway, about the new medicine we made? I'm proud to say that it's a success. My father felt better when I gave him some, and he's back on his feet today. I decided to call it the Miracle Gel. It'll be out on sale everywhere else soon."

"That's good to hear…" I murmured, covering my mouth with a hand when I yawned: closing my eyes. Even despite the quick breakfast we all had… I'm still sleepy…

"I can't thank you all enough for your help," Ren said with a bow. He then turned to Luke. "And you, sir, I'm sorry that we don't have the medicine to cure your… unique headaches. But please… accept these gels as compensation instead."

"Whatever," was all that Luke grumbled. He's obviously too tired to say anything else more than that.

"We'll be shipping these medicines out from here on out now, so expect them to see them in other medicine shops all over the world," Glin informed us. "Again, we thank you all for your help."

"Well then… if that is all the business we needed to take care of…" Jade turned to the door. "Everyone, let's go. To rejoin Anise at Kaitzur."

Annnd with that… we're off!

* * *

**Nathan is an OC submitted by the author Cam Irving, a good friend of mine. He'll probably show up again in future chapters, but that won't happen after a long time. Here though, he really helped OC Sam out a lot.**

**Now… don't forget! My birthday's on Sep 4! Don't forget to wish me a Happy Birthday in a review on your way out if you don't plan to give my any other form of presents! XD I would be very happy if you do at least that.**

**Next chapter: Fubras River!**


	12. Fubras River

**Oh… my… gosh!**

**To everyone who had sent in birthday wishes, thank you so much. Even more thanks to the people who took the time into making me birthday gifts: Jamimlia and TechNomaNcer28 (for writing and dedicating one-shots to me), Digi (for making a drawing) and to the girls at the forum too! You know who you are! ;D I love you all!**

**Getting adjusted to the first months of school with new classmates and then the first-term exams have been keeping me busy. Sorry about that. But since it's no longer summer vacation (as it was on my last update) and school has started up again, don't expect super-fast updates, okay? Don't want to make any promises I can't keep.**

**And also, I'm not going to include FOF changes here. They never mentioned it in either the anime or the manga anyway. But the party will still be able to use techs related to them, so don't worry about that. Just go with it and roll with me.**

**Now anyway… Let's. Go!**

* * *

**Fubras River**

It took us three days in total before we all had finally reached the entrance of Fubras River. There was a small stone path that led to the area in the middle of two grey mountains that actually looked whole from a distance. When I thought Jade was just leading us to a dead end, it wasn't until we reached this place did I notice the opening.

Oh, did I mention what the area around Fubras River was like? Unlike the area around Saint Binah, which consisted of several thick forests and plain, empty, grassy fields… the area around here are all filled with grey hills and mountains, with giant stones of all size and shapes decorating the bright emerald colored, grassy ground.

The sun hung high above the mountains, a glaring bright orb in the bright blue sky, with puffy white clouds slowly moving along, the light wind pushing them along their way.

When we entered Fubras River, I could faintly hear the sound of rushing water from further up ahead. Staying at the back of the group so I could observe the scenery around us now, I followed the group as everyone else were observed in their own conversations.

"Kimlascan territory is just ahead, once we cross here, right?" Luke asked Guy as he walked alongside the blond.

Guy nodded in response. "Yeah, there's a city called Kaitzur after crossing the Fubras River. That whole area's a demilitarized zone."

Luke let out a heavy sigh of relief after hearing that. From the back of the group, I could see him tilting his head backwards so that his face was pointing towards the sky.

"Man, I can't wait to get back… I'm sick of all this stuff."

Luke suddenly let out a short "Ah!" when Mieu suddenly scurried in front of him, blocking his way and forcing him to a stop: bouncing up and down joyfully.

"Hang in there, Master! Cheer up!" Mieu encouraged happily, still jumping as if he's a cheerleader.

The baby cheagle suddenly let out a yelp when Luke gave him a firm kick to the head that sent him to fall on his back on the grass. Not finished, Luke then pressed his foot against Mieu's belly: grinding and half-stomping the poor animal further into the ground.

"_Do you ever shut up?" _Luke demanded, annoyance heavily lacing his words and voice as he continued pushing his foot into Mieu's stomach. "I thought I told you not to talk!"

With that, Luke pulled his leg back and punted Mieu hard enough to send the poor thing flying a distance away with a cry, before he eventually crashed into a rock.

Making a sound of satisfaction, Luke dusted off his hands as if he's done a good job of taking out the garbage.

And taking the role of a housewife in my figurative imagination, Tear had marched up towards the young noble and reached forward to give him a firm pinch to his ear. My eyebrows flew up, not expecting her to actually get physical. Then again, when it came to Luke, she sometimes acted like a strict mother whenever he got fussy over a trivial thing. I guess that's a good thing, since Suzanne spoiled him far too much for his own good.

Or maybe she's just extremely pissed that cute, sweet, innocent little Mieu may have suffered a concussion thanks to Luke, and so she had decided physical with him for Mieu's sake. An eye for an eye.

"_OW! TEAR!"_

"Don't take things out on Mieu!" Tear scolded him angrily, disapproval as clear as day in her entire form.

After Tear pulled her hand away, Luke reached up with his own hand to rub his sore earlobe as Ion quickly walked up to try and pacify the red-haired boy before he lashes out again.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Luke," Ion apologized quickly, and for what seemed like the tenth or so time since we were at the Tartarus. "I promise we'll get you home as fast as we could."

"Tch…" Shaking his head, Luke crossed his arms and kicked a pebble away. As he did that, Mieu came bounding back over to us, and Tear immediately welcomed him with, literally, open arms as she allowed the cheagle to hop into her arms so she could comfort him.

"Well, it sounds like Luke's done whining. Shall we continue on?" Jade asked casually as he walked past everyone else.

"What do you mean 'whining'?" Luke asked angrily, glaring at Jade's back as he shook a fist at the Necromancer. When Jade responded by merely continuing to walk onwards, Luke got even more irked. "Hey, stop ignoring me!"

"Don't be such a child," Tear advised curtly as she followed after Jade, with Mieu still in her arms and enjoying her comforting pats. Ion gave Luke a sympathetic smile and nod before gesturing him to follow. With that, we're all on our way again.

I sighed quietly to myself. Amazing scenery, great weather, refreshing scent of nature… not-so-great arguments from my travelling companions ruining it all. Shame…

We all continued to walk along Fubras River. Guy, trying to get Luke forget about his bad mood, started a conversation with him. Something about how the currents of the water here changes depending on the season.

Looking up ahead and beyond past even more rocks jutting out from the ground, I saw a large river further up ahead: a clear crystal blue in color. From what I also saw, the water crashed against some rocks that were alongside the river hard enough to send a spray of mist to fly up. There were the occasional patches of land further up the river, almost reminding of miniature islands on a gigantic sea. Of course, I'm sure that's just the best way my mind could compare it to.

"Hey, hold on a second!" Luke exclaimed again, having stopped in his tracks as he gaped at the river ahead. "Don't tell me we have to s_wim _to get to the other side!"

Luke had a point. Other than the majestic river in front of us, there were no paths or any bridges for us to use, nor does there seem to be any way for us to get around it.

Well, I guess they don't call it Fubras _River _for nothing. There's more water than land here.

Guy stepped out from the group to take a closer look at the river in front and examined it. "Looks like we don't have a choice. But don't worry, the water here doesn't look too deep. Just take care to check for any banks in the water, and we won't have to worry about falling into the deeper waters and getting washed away."

"Either way, we have to get wet," Luke concluded, not looking at all pleased as he rolled his eyes skywards: blowing some bangs out of his face in a blatant show of annoyance. "Great," he muttered sarcastically. "Not only are my clothes are going to get wet and cold and heavy, but I could drown as well. What a great way to get back home..."

"If you feel like you're going to go under, just give me a call," Guy told him with an amused smile. "And look at it this way, you could finally get the chance to practice your swimming skills."

"Swimming... haven't done that in a while," I mused out loud. "Now that you mention it, I feel like just jumping in and go for a cool, refreshing swim."

"You better be careful," Luke advised me in an obnoxious voice. "If you're gonna drown, it's not like Guy's going to save you."

...That jab just now... that doesn't sound playful, nor was it funny at all.

"Actually..." Guy started to say, but I waved a hand to cut him off. I stared at Luke with a wry smirk.

"And you better be careful Luke," I told him sweetly with a forced smile. I just can't help it. Luke had left an opening, and I just _had _to take it. "Because if _you_ drown, then Guy will be attempting CPR- that's mouth-to-mouth breathing if you don't know- on _you_. And I'm sure_ that _will be much more awkward than him doing that to a female."

And that would also make the yaoi fangirls back home to scream and die of happiness, too.

Oh, and Luke's face at the moment? Priceless. I think he actually turned a bit green at the idea of Guy's lips on his own.

"Mouth-to-mouth…" he repeated slowly, his disgusted expression twisting into a grimace. "_What kind of rescue attempt is that?"_

"You don't know, Luke?" Ion asked casually, his head turned to look at him. "There would be times when a person drowning would swallow a large amount of water to the point of losing consciousness. When that happens, a CPR will be applied in order to bring air back into that person's lungs."

"Actually, you have to first lay that person down before you pump out the water from their body by pushing against their chest with both hands," Guy explained, making the gestures with both his hands. "Of course it has to be performed immediately or else-"

"While I understand the reason in teaching the young master here something new," Jade started, cutting into our conversation. "I'm not interested in hearing more complaints from him about how slow the trip to Baticul is taking again. So let's not dawdle here any longer than necessary, shall we?"

"I'll show you how it's properly done later," Guy promised as he walked towards the river alongside Jade with others quickly following. They all carefully stepped into the rushing water of the river, and I heard Luke grumbling in disdain as he got in. Before I followed, I reached down and took off my red sandals. I didn't want them to accidentally slip off while I was walking and float away. I also didn't want to walk the rest of the trip to Kaitzur barefooted. When I was done, I hurriedly followed and stepped into the waters as well.

The water reached all the way up to above my knees, quickly soaking my pants up as I felt the current of the water pushing against me from my right. I also felt the somewhat cold water against my feet as they stepped on what felt like a stone bank underneath the water. Regardless, I continued on and followed the others. Hopefully my pants will just dry up later after we get out of the river.

"By the way, you sounded like you know what you should do," Tear commented over to Guy as she carefully walked through the rushing current of the water. Ion was by her side, his free hand gently wrapped around Tear's elbow. The both of them were behind Guy and Jade, who were both in the lead. Luke and I tagged the rear, and Mieu... well... at least Mieu got it easy, since he's being carried by Tear. Well, I don't think Mieu would be able to handle the trek across the water any way. The poor cheagle would be _submerged_ in the water, if anything.

"I'm actually a certified student in the maritime rescue," Guy told her. Even though his back is to me and I can't see his face, I could hear the smile in his voice. One of his quirks, I had noticed. Whenever Guy's talking about a light casual topic like this, he would always sound like he's in a good mood: hence why it's easy to imagine that there would always be a smile on his face during conversations like this. And most of the time, it really is there. His facial expressions always seem to be the opposite of Luke's, who would have bad-tempered scowl on his face for most of the day.

But when it's time to get serious, he would definitely quickly get serious.

"Really? When?" I asked, honestly curious. Yeah, I knew that Guy is a licensed lifeguard, but the game never did mentioned how or _when_ he got it.

Guy turned his head so that he could take a look at me from over his shoulder for a moment before he faced forward again to run his thumb underneath his chin thoughtfully. That's another thing I had recently noticed and liked about Guy: even if it was just a brief look, he would acknowledge your presence whenever you talked to him or asked him a question. Even if he was originally talking to someone, he would still turn to look at you if you say something.

It's probably his way of saying "yeah, don't worry, I'm talking to you, so don't feel weird for stepping into the conversation as well," I guess. Or maybe it's only out of politeness, because it's no secret that Guy's a gentleman at heart, after all. Either way, it's a good trait, at least in my opinion. I mean, if someone is talking to you, but they could not yet spare you a single glance to acknowledge you, it can be a bit off-putting at times.

Or maybe that's just me being over-sensitive again...

..._OR_ Guy just unconsciously knew how to make women feel more appreciated. ...Actually, _that's_ not a hard fact to accept. Not just women, but everyone around him, too. Luke's a good example of that.

"That would be three years back, when I was eighteen," Guy answered after thinking about it. He then nodded to himself. "Yeah, that's right. I was always interested in learning, but I just haven't gotten a chance to yet. I took classes on the mornings of my day-offs, which is really only on Remdays."

My eyes widened as my heart skipped a beat at that. Remday...? Ohhh, _shit_. How could I _forget? _As a matter of fact, why didn't I think about _that _particular subject up until now? Not only do I have to learn how to read the Fonic Alphabet, but I need to memorize the days of the week, too? Not just that... but aren't the months on Auldrant different from Earth as well? ...Oh, yeah... they are. This might be a little hard to get used to...

Guy shrugged as he continued to speak. "Not that I minded, of course. I'm glad that Lady Suzanne even allowed me a weekly break. Plus, not only that, but I don't think Duke Fabre would be too pleased either." He chuckled. "So I should be happy with what I got."

"That is a good mindset to have," Ion complimented, nodding.

"It was a drag," Luke complained from his place right next to me. "It was boring when Guy's not around... like watching paint dry."

Guy turned his head to look over his shoulder at Luke, an eyebrow raised. "Come now, Luke. You still saw me when I got back from my classes, didn't you? Plus, you saw me everyday."

"Besides Master Van, you're the only one in the manor who I could talk and hang out with," Luke grumbled. "When you're both not around, it feels like I'm going to go crazy."

Guy suddenly chuckled. "You wouldn't have even noticed me not being around in the manor on Remday mornings if you hadn't snuck out of your tuition classes by jumping out of the window of your room."

_That_ certainly got all of our attention.

Jade chuckled. "My, it sounds like the young master's quite a handful in his younger years."

"You jumped out of a window?" I asked, amused. I tucked away a smile at the mental picture I got, which involved a grinning Luke jumping out of his window and leaving behind a very PO'd teacher yelling after him while waving a book.

"So what if I did?" Luke asked in a drawl. "It's not like my room's on a high floor or anything."

"What's wrong with your studies, Luke?" Ion asked with a frown. "Do you perhaps dislike your tutor that much?"

Luke raised his chin up and rolled his head around. "He's a pain. Not only is he boring, but he would always try to tell me what to do, even if I don't want to. Like, 'Sir Luke, please do not speak with those who are below your level', or 'Sir Luke, please stop being befriended to that lowly servant of yours' and other irritating stuff like that." He waved a hand as he would to swat a fly away. "Couldn't stand that guy."

"Regardless of the reasons, you shouldn't be ignoring your studies, Luke," Tear pointed out with disapproval. "Not only that, but Guy has his own things to do besides being by your side constantly."

"Ugh..." Luke shook his head, sounding as if he got a headache. "You're not the first person to tell me that, so don't bother, will you?"

"That's not the kind of attitude you should be having!" Tear shot back. "Why do you insist on being continually ignorant of everything?"

From his place in Tear's arms, Mieu raised one of his furry paws up. "Studying is fun, Master!" he agreed (somewhat) with Tear.

"I don't need a _thing_ like you to tell me that!"

Guy suddenly laughed again. "But boy, this guy sure makes me feel appreciated though. Making quite a lot of fuss the first time I started my classes, and demanding that I'd be brought back to the manor, I heard."

Luke groaned at that, his face turned into a light shade of red. "Sh-Shut up. Father had scolded me so much, it felt like both my ears had been ringing for the rest of the day."

I looked down at me feet, which were still submerged under the water as I continued to walk through the rushing water after the others. Oh hey look! I could actually see some tiny fish in the water! That's kinda cool.

"You say you've always been interested... so does that mean you enjoy swimming, Guy?" I asked, looking up.

"Yeah, I do," Guy confirmed. "I had always enjoyed playing in the waters as a kid. I'm a good swimmer, so..." he shrugged again, "why not put it to further good use?"

"I see... how honorable of you," Tear remarked. I could vaguely imagine a small smile on her face when she said that. I mean, that's not a statement that one could say with a frown... unless they were being sarcastic.

The conversation faded away after that, and the rest of the trek through the Fubras river was cast in silence, with only the sound of the rushing waters keeping the atmosphere from being too quiet. I took that opportunity to allow myself to think again, remembering something from our conversation.

The names of this world's weekly days and months... okay... let's see if I can remember anything from the game regarding that. Uh... months... months... Wasn't there a book about that in the game? A book that's either in that one room filled with books in Peony's castle in Grand Chokmah, or the library in Daath. I forgot which one it was.

Uh, okay... so the months of the year. Uh... first up would be... Rem-Decan? Yeah, that sounded right. Then, Slyph-Decan would be next, and then Undine-Decan. Hey, now they're easier to remember when I really think about it!

I concentrated harder on trying to remember the contents of that book. I was quite sure I that the last time I found that book in the game, I had memorized the names for the fun of it. That was from my first playthrough. Now, I just needed to remember again. I know the each first name of the month are based on the Summon Spirits from Tales of Symphonia. Then we just need to add 'Decan' to them, and we'll get the first half of the months of the year down.

So, anyway... there's... Rem-Decan, Slyph-Decan, Undine-Decan, then... Gnome-Decan, Efree-no, it should be Ifrit. Ifrit-Decan, then finally, Shadow-Decan.

Okay, that's the first six months of the year down. Okay... after that... I just need to go backwards on that order, and replace 'Decan' with 'Redecan'. Yes! I got it! Then, in the place of Rem-Decan, it should be Luna-Redecan to take its place in the backwards order. And then finally... Lorelei-Redecan as the last and 13th month to end the year.

...Huh... so Auldrant really has thirteen months instead of twelve like Earth. And I remember it being stated in that same book that there is a total of... um... seven hundred and sixty-something days a year. Oh my God...

...Okay, if there were at least seven hundred and sixty-something days in a year, that would mean that there should be... what? At least 58 to 59 days each month? Ack... this would _really _take a while to get used to...

But... in that case... since Auldrant has many days a year more than Earth, that that would mean the... the... Auldrians? Is that what they call the people of this world? I'll go with that for now. Regardless, that would mean the Auldrians would age a_ lot _slower than the people back on Earth.

Wow... I'm almost envious of that. They get to enjoy their youths longer, at the very least.

I sighed quietly. Well, I got the names of the months down and remembered... but I don't remember anything about the names of the weekly days. ...Actually, scratch that. I _do_ know the names... I just don't know their exact _order_.

Poking the inside of my cheek with my tongue for a bit, I decided to ask everyone a question that I've always been wondering, and wanting to _know_, about.

"Hey, so uh..." I stammered, then steeled myself to ask the question that's on my mind. "When's everyone's birthday?"

I noticed Luke has raised an eyebrow at me from the corner of my eye, and Tear had turned around to give me a curious look.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked curiously.

I shrugged, trying to not look as embarrassed as I felt on the inside. "Why not? I just wanted to know. I'm really curious," I answered truthfully.

"Oh, is that all? Well..." Tear looked straight ahead again, so as to avoid falling over into the water. "I was born on the first day of Lorelei-Redecan, ND 2002."

"Wait, wait!" Luke suddenly exclaimed, a hand raised up. His eyes were wide with surprise. "Tear, does that mean... you're only _fifteen?"_

"Yes," Tear answered, sounding befuddled. "Why do you ask?"

Luke shook his head, his face having turned back into its usual brooding look. "Just thought you were older. You sure _act _older."

There was silence from Tear at that. I have a feeling that she didn't know whether to take that as an insult, or a compliment.

"...What about you?" Tear had then asked after what seemed to be a sigh.

Luke flicked his head up backwards at that. "Lorelei-Redecan too, but on the 48th. ND 2000. That's what Mother told me, anyway."

In other words... that's actually really _Asch's_ birthday.

"Mine is on Ifrit-Decan 41," Guy spoke next. "ND 1997."

"Undine-Decan 17, ND 2002," Ion said next. He then looked up thoughtfully as he added, "I believe I also remember what Anise told me about her birthday. Hers is on the 46th of Shadow-Decan. ND 2004." He then looked over to where Jade was in front of him. "What about you, Jade?"

"Don't even think about lying about your date of birth," Luke sneered. "We all know you're old."

"Luke, that's-" Tear started to scold him, but Jade had quickly held up a hand.

"Don't worry, I have nothing to about my age to be ashamed of," Jade reassured, sounding as morbidly amused as ever. "Slyph-Redecan 22, ND 1982."

"Of course he wouldn't hide about his old age," I said with a dry smile. "He's going to use the it as an excuse for not doing... almost everything."

_"Dammit!" _Luke slapped a palm to his face at that. "Can't believe I forgot about that!"

Typical Jade... using Luke's own words against him. I honestly couldn't help but snort, then bowed my head to hide the smirk that's on my face.

"Jade's gonna make us youngsters work so hard until we're skin n' booones..." I mumbled jokingly with a laugh.

"And he's probably going to eat the most out of all of us with being old as his excuse," Luke added with a nod, looking as if he'll definitely believe it if Jade's actually going to do something like that. "Because he's a slave-driver. I should know."

Guy turned to look over his shoulder again to stare at Luke at that, an incredulous eyebrow raised. Even Ion looked befuddled. "And... do I really want to know what happened...?"

"Jade made Luke push a bunch of crates back on the Tartarus all by himself," I told him with a grin at the memory. "Oh, and he also creeped Luke out by making it look like he had a-"

"_I would rather we not talk about that!" _Luke quickly cut in sharply, his arms flailing about.

"...The both of you have such strange imaginations," Tear mumbled, shaking her head. "Where do you even get some of those images _from?"_

_"_Don't act like he's innocent, Tear!" Luke ordered.

"You two hurt my feelings," Jade declared dramatically. "To see me in such a demonic light! My fragile heart is weeping..."

I gave Jade a dry look at that as I heard Guy snort in disbelief from up ahead. "Uh... okay... I'll just... pretend to believe that you're actually heartbroken, of all things."

Luke then muttered, "It's not even _that_ hard to see you as a demon..."

"Um... let's just... change the topic, shall we?" Ion suggested with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, lets." I suddenly felt a jab to my shoulder. Grimacing a bit, I turned to give Luke an annoyed look.

"You didn't tell us your birthday yet," he answered by ways of explanation, and as if it was a good reason to give me a sharp jab for.

I sighed slowly on the outside. On the inside however, I was quickly thinking. What should I pick for my birthday while I'm still in this world?

My birthday back home is on the 4th of September... and it's the ninth month of the year, so... I'll just go with whatever is the ninth month here as well. I quickly repeated the name of each months of Auldrant in my head. The ninth month here is...

"...4th of Gnome-Redecan," I answered carefully. And Luke-or rather, _Asch-_ is the same age as me, so... "ND 2000."

"What about you, Mieu?" Tear asked the cheagle in her arms kindly.

"Luna-Redecan 52!" came the high-pitched, happy response. "And um... ND... uh... ND...?"

Luke groaned when Mieu has difficulty in remembering the year of his birth. "You idiotic thing. Don't try to say anything if you don't know your own birth year!"

"_Mieuuuu... _yes master..._"_

* * *

"Oh, we're on solid land, _finally!" _Luke said with a relieved sigh as he slumped down on the hard, grassy ground and patted his brown pants with a hand. I made a sound of both content and agreement as I trudged out of the water, water droplets dripping down from my camouflage pants. "Man, my clothes are all soaked...!" he whined.

"They will dry, don't worry," Tear reminded him.

Luke's pants weren't the only ones that were soaked. Guy's pants and Ion's... stockings, were drenched, as well as mine. I have a feeling that Tear and Jade did not get it as bad as us, since they both were wearing long boots. Mieu's the only one that is unsurprisingly dry, however.

Speaking of Mieu, the cheagle was right by Luke's side: fanning his pants the best he could with his stubby furry paws.

"Don't worry Master!" Mieu reassured him. "I'll use fire to quickly dry them up!" He started to suck in some air into his mouth-

_"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" _The red-headed noble quickly reached a gloved hand out to slap it roughly over the cheagle's mouth. "_No _fire, Thing!"

_"Mmm! Mm hm mmm!" _came the muffled response.

With his hand still clamped around the lower-half of Mieu's face, Luke stood up as he held the cheagle in front of his face with a glare. "Maybe I should just throw you into the river and be done with you."

Tear was quickly right next to Luke and had snatched the panicked baby cheagle from his grasp. "No, absolutely not! Luke, you should know that Mieu's terrified of the water!"

"At least it'll force him to learn how to swim!" Luke spat as he walked away from her. "Let's just keep going already. We've wasted enough time in this stupid place as it is! I'm close to getting home, too!"

"Right behind you, Luke," Guy agreed as he jogged after his charge. Jade quietly followed after them as well. Tear, Mieu, Ion and I were the only ones left for the moment.

The melodist sighed wearily as she looked down at the cheagle in her arms. "I really do wished Luke would treat Mieu more kindly. He's doing the best he could."

"..I... I'm sure he'll warm up to Mieu," I piped up quietly as I slipped my red sandals back on. "...Eventually."

Ion tilted his head to the side slightly in thought. He leaned against his rod slightly in what seemed to be mild exhaustion. "I'm sure our journey is only causing Luke to be quite stressed. Once he returns home, he'll probably feel more relaxed and calm."

"Hopefully..." Tear said with a frown.

"You okay, Ion?" I asked when I saw him let out a sigh through his lips. "Can you still keep going? You look winded."

The green-haired boy straightened up at that, attempting to look less drained as he gave me a reassuring smile. "Yes. I'm fine, it's okay. Don't worry, I'm fine," he answered quickly in a kind voice.

"Fon Master, please don't push yourself," Tear told him gently. "We can take a break if you cannot go any further for now."

"Thank you, Tear," Ion said gratefully with a nod. "But I'm fine, really. I have no problems in walking further."

"Your body's not really in the best shape, no offense," I reminded him. "So don't worry if you think you'll be slowing us down. Because if you... if you collapse again, then..." I trailed off. Maybe that was a little rude to say...?

But Ion got rid of my worries by giving us another smile. "Hehe, alright. I understand. But I'm still feeling well, so it really is okay." He turned his head towards the direction where the other men of our group went. "Come on. Let's go. Truth be told, I wanted to catch up with Anise as well."

"Ah." My eyebrows rose at that. Oh, is _that _why? Is that the other reason why Ion wanted to keep going and not take that much breaks? He wanted to see Anise alive and well, since he really hadn't seen her since the attack on the Tartarus. Sure, he heard from her from her letter he got back at Saint Binah, but then again, they both are close friends. I guess Ion would feel completely at ease if he sees her in the flesh again, even if he had the confidence that Anise is capable of looking after herself.

Or maybe he just didn't want her to travel alone. Maybe he just missed her like a good friend would. Whatever the reason, now I could understand Ion's reason of wanting us to get to our destination as fast as we could, without being pushy about it like Luke did.

"I see," I said with a smile and a slight chuckle. "Okay, fine. Let's go. Just don't push yourself to the limit, like Tear says."

"I won't."

We all hurried after the guys after that, and we caught up with them in just a few seconds. The three of them were actually waiting for us to catch up. When we did (and despite some more grumbling from Luke), we all started walking together as a group again.

After a few minutes of walking, it was Guy who broke the silence when, for some reason, suddenly cursed under his breath. I'm not the only one who heard it, as Luke turned his head to face his blond servant friend.

"What's up, Guy?" he asked, looking worried.

The older man shook his head. "No… I was just thinking about our conversation about our birthdays earlier when I was reminded of something. Luke… Natalia's birthday."

There was silence from Luke after that particular statement, before he let out the loudest, longest, and the most _miserable_ groan I have_ ever _heard from him thus far. And that said a lot. _A lot._

"You're kidding me," the red-head said while he rolled his head skywards. "What about it? Would that mean that by the time I get home, it'll be in time for her birthday? Man, what a pain. That means that I'm going to have to dance with her again this year? How much longer until her birthday?"

There was silence again, this time from Guy as he gaped at the younger male. "...Luke... you really don't remember Princess Natalia's birthday? Even after all these years?"

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "Why should I bother? It's not like I ever looked forward to it." He then rolled his eyes. "Besides... she's just going to remind me of it anyway, whenever it's about to come up. 'Luke, you _will_ dance with me again this year, right?' or 'Luke, you certainly _must _attend my birthday party!' and blah blah blah blah blah..."

"You attending and dancing with her means a lot more to her than you think, Luke," Guy told him with a troubled frown.

That's true, because at this time, Natalia still believes that the Luke with us now is actually Asch: whom the latter is the 'Luke' she remembers from her childhood.

"No it doesn't," Luke protested. "Or else she wouldn't be such a nagging cow about it."

...Poor, poor Natalia...

Guy seemed to have the same thoughts at me as that moment, because he let out a sigh at that. Seeing a break in the conversation, Ion spoke up.

"Is Natalia a friend of yours, Luke?" the Fon Master asked.

"She's my cousin," Luke answered. "Bossy, fussy, annoying, likes to nag, creepy sometimes... that's Natalia."

"She's actually not really that bad," Guy quickly told Ion, defending the Kimlascan princess. "She and Luke just tend to argue a lot."

"Doesn't those who are acquainted with him all do?" Jade interjected smoothly.

"_She_ would always be the one who started them," Luke quickly stated childishly, his arms crossed as he glared at the Necromancer. "And you know what? I actually like her a _little_ better than you, old man."

Ion's eyebrows rose up at that. "Ah, I... see?"

"...I could actually sympathize with Natalia..." I heard Tear murmured quietly. Fortunately, Luke hadn't heard that. If he did, then they would have _another_ argument.

Guy shook his head. "That's what I just realized just now: we're not going to make it. Today's the thirty-sixth of Rem-Decan… her 19th birthday's tomorrow. Looks like we'll be missing it this year."

"Really?" Luke exclaimed with a grin, sounding both excited and relieved. He then actually punched a fist up into the sky as he made a small jump. "Yes! Alright! That's the best news I've heard all day!"

Guy let out a quiet sigh at that, shaking his head.

...Which reminds me… don't we have to go to Choral Castle after we reached Kaitzur?. I'm not sure how long that particular trip would take. Then, after we're done there, we would have to head all the way back to Kaitzur again to board a ship to Chesedonia. And after we're done _there_, we would be boarding a ship there that would take us straight to Baticul.

That doesn't sound like a lot at first, but now that I'm actually travelling with this group... I know things would take a lot longer than they seem. Which reminds me... don't we have someone to meet here?

I exhaled quietly, looking up the cliffs that are on either side of us-

-and quickly froze, my heart having skipped a few beats as my eyes widened.

_"Luke, Guy: get back!"_ I screamed.

Luke and Guy, who were both in the lead, stopped at that. Luke was about to look up to see what the problem was, but Guy, the one with faster reflexes, quickly acted. He swung one arm around Luke's shoulder and the other one around his waist before leaping backwards and away: taking them both to safety.

Not two seconds after he did that did a large, yellow-furred beast with brown stripes leap down on the spot in which they were just previously standing on. I noticed someone seated on its back before Tear rushed forward in front of me as Jade pulled Ion back.

_"A liger!" _she shouted. Her throwing knives had been already brought out, so she quickly threw them towards the large liger. A blast of purple electrical energy from the liger stopped the knives midway from striking its hide, and they fell to the ground uselessly.

"I won't let you get away!" the young girl riding on the liger's back shouted as her cute, docile-looking face twisted into a fierce and determined expression.

"It's Arietta the Wild! She's caught up to us!" Guy growled, getting up from his place on the ground next to Luke, who quickly scrambled back up to his feet as well. Both of them drew out their respective weapons as they prepared to fight.

"Wait!" Ion protested quickly. He boldly moved to the very front of the group, his free hand raised up to try and prevent anyone from attacking each other.

"Ion, get back!" Jade advised sternly, but the Fon Master shook his head.

"Let me try to speak with her! I'm sure Arietta will listen if we..." Ion trailed off, his head moved to look at Arietta, who's seated on the back of the liger. The liger growled at the green-haired boy, but Arietta patted its side to calm it down, her attention now focused on Ion.

"Arietta, please let us go," Ion pleaded. "You understand, don't you? We can't let this war happen."

The fierce expression that was on Arietta's face quickly shifted into a gentler and more sorrowful one as she cast her gaze downwards. She buried the lower half of her face into her doll, in which she clutched to her chest with her free hand. I'm amazed that a girl her size could ride a liger that big with just one hand.

Arietta stayed silent for a moment. But when she spoke, her voice was shaky and full of regret. "I... I want to help you, Ion..." she looked up again, this time looking over to the rest of us. When she did, her I momentarily saw a blazing hatred in those pink eyes.

She spoke again, this time sounding stronger and filled with resolute. "But those people are my enemies!"

Ion quickly shook his head. "Arietta, they aren't bad people."

Arietta looked over to Ion again, her lips trembling. "Yes..." her voice shook again. She hugged her doll to her chest with both arms this time, her face pressed to its back. Even her shoulders shook slightly as she dug her (sharp, I noticed) nails into the face of her doll. "Yes they are... they killed Mommy!" she whimpered, sounding more than ready to burst out crying.

"What're you talking about?" Luke asked in both shock and horror. "When did we ever do something like that?"

Arietta still did not look up after he had asked. Instead, she started to explain. "Mommy's home was burned, so she moved into the Cheagle Woods." She shook her head, her long pink hair falling forward over her shoulders from the gesture. "She was just trying to protect her children... my bothers and sisters..."

I heard a horrified sound from Mieu at that, who apparently understood what Arietta meant now.

Tear did too it seems, yet she still sounded doubtful. "Could she mean the liger queen? But she's human..."

Ion bowed his head down towards the ground. From the looks of it, he immediately had figured it out as well. "Oh no..." I heard him breathe in horror as he raised a hand to his forehead as he shook it. He spoke again, this time louder and filled with bother.

"She was raised by monsters after losing her parents in the Hod War," Ion said, sounding as if he had just remembered a very important and crucial fact himself. "She was recruited for the Oracle Knights because of her ability to communicate with monsters. I..."

After hearing all that, everyone had figured it out now. The truth was already out in the clear for everyone to see. The awful truth that we were faced with. The sin we had intentionally committed, though still not willingly.

Luke stumbled backwards at that, reeling from the information he just got. Guy turned to face his charge worriedly. Though he was not present at the time, Luke had already told Guy the important things that have occurred up until the attack on the Tartarus.

"Then the liger we killed was..." Luke trailed off in his whisper.

At that moment, Arietta snapped her head up and glared at all of us with so much sheer hate, disgust and loathing, I had to take a step back. She was trembling violently from all the emotions inside of her, as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her teeth were angrily gritted, and I swear to _God _that I could have heard a beast-like _snarl_ from her throat.

_"That was Mommy!"_ she shrieked shrilly as her sharp nails dug even further into her doll to the point that I could swear that was about to be torn open. "You killed Mommy! I'll never forgive you!"

"That..." I let out a breath, then steeled myself as I raised my voice to speak to Arietta. "_That was self-defense! _Your mother _attacked us first _when we tried to negotiate with her _peacefully!_ What do you want us to do: just stand there and have her bite our heads off?"

_"I don't care!" _Arietta screamed back, moving her head from side to side violently as her hair flew astray and her tears fell to her liger friend's fur. "You killed Mommy! You killed my siblings when they were still just defenseless little _eggs_, too! Why _them? What did they do to deserve that?_ How do you explain _that?_ Don't you even _dare_ tell me that it was just an accident either! They never even got a chance to be born... _You're cruel! You're horrible!"_

I pressed my fingers to my forehead at that, my eyes closed. I guess it would be useless to point out to her that her siblings would have to attack a defenseless hamlet town in order to get the human flesh they would need to eat... she looked like she'll pick her liger family over the humans any day... dammit.

I would felt sympathy for her when I was playing the game... but now? Her blatant ignorance for the well-being of the innocent villagers of Engeve, and other humans for that matter, not to mention logic and refusing to see things from our point of view when we explained ourselves... it irks me. Especially since she'll want to take our lives now no matter what explanation or reasoning methods we would try to pacify her with.

"Brat..." I mumbled quietly.

"I'll chase you to the ends of the earth, and _kill you!" _Arietta screamed out her promise, her decision final. One of her arms flew up, about to order her monster to attack, and we all tensed ourselves for the oncoming battle-

-when the entire area around her shook violently. Everyone let out their own version of an exclamation as they tied to keep themselves steady against the moving environment. I stumbled and fell to the ground with how hard the ground beneath us was vibrating.

The ground all around us started to broke apart and the sound of some kind of hissing and the earth rumbling dominated the area. The hissing sound we heard were in the form dark-violet mist being sprayed out from the cracks in the ground.

"_It's an earthquake!" _I heard Jade shout urgently. I then saw something blue appear next to my side before an equally blue glove reached down to grab me by the arm to pull me up. Guy and Luke had each taken a hold of Ion, I noticed, and Tear had once again taken Mieu into her arms.

_"What's that mist?" _Guy roared to be heard over all of the noises.

_"It's the miasma!"_ Tear noted in alarm.

_"Oh, no! The miasma is deadly poison!" _Ion exclaimed, securely held in between Luke and Guy.

Some of the miasma sprayed right into the faces of both Arietta and her liger friend. As the former started to cough, there was the sound of crashing boulders from somewhere above us. Next thing I noticed, a large boulder had crashed right into the liger's side, sending it to the ground. Arietta screamed as she was forcefully thrown out of her seat on the liger's back, and she landed painfully on a crack in the earth: knocking her into unconsciousness.

_"Arietta!" _Ion shouted in concern.

_"Can the miasma kill you if you breathe it?"_ Luke shouted in alarm.

"If you don't inhale a large amount over a long period of time, you'll be okay!" Tear yelled over to him. "Let's just get out of-!"

We all shouted again simultaneously when the very patch of earth we were all standing on had started to break apart and pull away from the land. I felt us going downwards as the patch of earth in front of us looked as if it was slowly rising, though I know that it's the opposite.

_"Now what do we do?" _Luke screamed hysterically. _"We can't run away!"_

_"Fonic hymns, at a time like this?_" Jade asked, keeping a good grip on both my arms to keep me steady. It was then that I noticed that Tear was singing with her staff held in front of her, with a glowing white circular rune underneath her. What Tear was singing then sounded different from the usual ones she often sang.

Ion noticed it as well. _"Wait, Jade! That song... it's one of Yulia's fonic hymns!"_

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. When it disappeared, the entire area we were in was surrounded by a large, white dome.

Not only that, but the miasma had stopped coming from the ground, and the earthquake had stopped. The only thing that showed that there was an earthquake just now were the cracks in the earth.

Guy observed the area around us with both amazement and bewilderment. "The miasma disappeared!"

"Yeah... and the earthquake stopped, too..." I added. I stood up after Jade had let go of me, letting out a sigh of relief as I attempted to calm my rapidly beating heart. "God... that was a nightmare... we almost _died!"_

Tear nodded to both our observations. "I've applied a vibration identical to the inherent vibration of the miasma. It's a temporary shield. It won't last long."

After that particular warning, we all climbed back up to the main surface so that we could escape the area. "The seven fonic hymns left behind by Yulia..." Jade mused. "I'd heard rumors of them, but I heard that they were too difficult for anyone to decipher..."

"Worry about that later," Guy told him. "We need to get out of here."

"...Yes." Jade nodded in agreement, before he then noticed Arietta lying unconscious on the broken ground across from him. Her liger friend was out unconscious as well. It was lying on its side, with the boulder that had crashed into it on top of one of its fore paws.

As soon as he saw the pink-haired girl, Jade allowed his lance to materialize in his hand before he walked towards her with an intent to kill. Luke quickly noticed this.

With his eyes wide with horror, the red-head quickly rushed forward until he's right in front of Jade, blocking his way to Arietta. "H-Hey, stop! Why do you have to kill her?" he asked with panic in his voice.

Jade gave Luke a steady, hard and cold look at the question, and Luke cringed a bit from it. Yet despite that, he stayed rooted to his spot.

"If we let her live, she'll come after us again," Jade pointed out to him.

"But...!" Luke shook his head, refusing to back down. "How could you kill someone unconscious and defenseless?"

"...You really are soft," Tear sighed, her eyes closed.

Luke glared at the melodist for her comment. _"Shut up, you cold-" _he quickly cut himself off when Ion moved forward and stood right next to Luke: showing that he's on the noble's side.

"Jade, please let her go," Ion requested, his leaf-eyes both stern and imploring at the same time. "Arietta was originally one of my Fon Master Guardians."

The Malkuth soldier looked down at Ion. After a few moments of his silence where he stared at Ion's unyielding expression for a while, he finally put away his lance: making Luke heave a sigh of relief. "...Very well."

"You don't mind if we at least move her so that the miasma won't hit her if it comes back, do you?" Guy requested, staring at Arietta's prone form on the ground.

Jade merely shrugged, his eyes closed behind his glasses. "I don't think I can complain about that, seeing as I'm already letting her live."

"It won't hold much longer," Tear warned all of us, referring to her shield.

Bending down, both Luke and Ion pulled Arietta's unconscious body up by having each of her arms draped over their shoulders. "Let's go," Ion said with a nod, as he and Luke started to pull the girl away from the area with us behind them.

"...Um... what about... the monster?" Luke asked hesitantly, looking back towards the unconscious liger, which was still in the way of danger. "I-I know we shouldn't, but to Arietta, it's..."

"I... don't think we can move it away with its size, Luke," I said with a sigh. "Plus, see that boulder? It's on one of its legs, and I don't think we can move that either. And... Tear already said that the shield won't be able to hold any longer, so..." I frowned. "I, I don't like the idea either, but we have no choice but to leave it behind."

"...Man, Arietta's just going to have more reasons to hate us..." Luke murmured in dismay, looking quite remorseful. Not just him, but Ion looked quite visibly guilty as well.

"It can't be helped," Tear said. "Hurry. We only have a few seconds left."

I looked over to Arietta's unconscious body held between Luke and Ion. Though I found her ignorance for the other humans and her need to kill us rather irksome, it doesn't mean that I don't feel some sort of pity for the girl.

But what can we do? We can't take back what we did, and Arietta's going to kill us even if we were down in the dirt and apologized to her a hundred times over. She hadn't seen how much Luke had hesitated in the beginning of the fight with the liger queen, or how he had looked by the end. Even if she did see, she probably still wouldn't care, as she said herself.

As such, since she willingly chose to be our enemy, I pushed the guilt and sympathy I felt down the best I could.

What would I get if I felt bad for being enemies with someone who wanted me dead? I wanted to stay alive, so not wanting to be her enemy and refusing to fight her when the time comes... wouldn't that mean that I would want the opposite of that?

* * *

It was an hour or so later after we all have left Fubras River and continued on our way to Kaitzur. We had deposited Arietta by the exit on our way out. After we had done that, we fled from the area by running. According to Jade, we need to put as much distance between ourselves and Arietta as much as we can, so we could avoid being attacked by her when she regains unconsciousness. Ion had even pointed out that, even without monsters to aid her, Arietta is still also well-versed in using fonic artes. With all that said, all of us had agreed to leave Arietta behind and run the rest of the way: cutting down the occasional monsters that got in our way.

We kept on running and running... and we did not stop until Jade called for us to slow down.

"I believe we're far enough from Fubras River for now," he informed everyone. As I let out a tired breath and slumped to the ground for a moment's rest, Jade nodded over to Tear.

"I also wanted to ask you about your fonic hymns, Tear," he said, an arm crossed over his chest as he rested the elbow of his other hand on it, his hand rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"I've been wondering about them for a while. Your fonic hymns are different from the ones I know. And Ion..." He looked over to the Fon Master. "You say those are Yulia's fonic hymns."

Luke, not seeing the point to any of the conversation, brusquely asked, "So what?"

"Yulia's fonic hymns are special," Guy explained. "Normally, fonic hymns are just the incantation used in a fonic arte, combined with a melody. They're not as strong as fonic artes."

"But Yulia's hymns are different," Ion spoke next. "They are said to hold the same power as fonic artes."

"And Tear's hymns are pretty strong and effective all the way up to this point, I noticed," I inputted.

Tear looked over to everyone in turn before she slowly nodded. "...Yes, the fonic hymns I use are indeed those of Yulia."

"I thought Yulia's hymns meant nothing with only the verses and melody," Jade pointed out for her, frowning.

Luke raised an eyebrow as he looked over to Tear. "Really? You can't just sing them?"

"When one who truly appreciates the symbolism and meaning sings a verse, it draws a map to hidden wisdom," Guy explained, his arms crossed with a nod.

Luke gave Guy a confused look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The blond man closed his eyes and shrugged. "...Or so they say, anyway. Supposedly, they're handed down in secret from one generation to the next."

Tear looked a bit startled at how accurate Guy's explanation had been. "Y-Yes. That's correct." She then gave him a somewhat suspicious look. "You know a lot about them."

"I heard about it once, way back," was all Guy said as an explanation.

"You know Van, right?" I piped up, knowing that he did. "Since he's Tear's brother, doesn't that mean he could use the fonic hymns, too? Did you by chance hear it from him?"

Guy set his lips into a firm line at that. "...Yeah. Definitely from him."

"Master Van..." Luke repeated, looking down at a fist he made. "I don't even remember him saying anything about hymns or anything like that."

"How are you able to sing Yulia's hymns? Did you learn them from your brother, perhaps?" Jade asked Tear.

She ignored the last question, but answered only the first. "I was told it is because my family is descended from Yulia..." she answered with her arms crossed as she looked away: looking a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know whether that is true or not."

Jade pushed his glasses back up his nose when they fell. "A descendant of Yulia... I see..."

He probably noticed how uncomfortable Tear looked, because he didn't press her for more questions, especially regarding who taught her how to sing Yulia's fonic hymns.

"So that means that Master Van is a descendant of Yulia, too?" Luke asked, looking as if he had just admired Van even more from the excited look in his face.

When Luke turned to Guy for confirmation, it was the blond's turn to look just a tad bit uncomfortable. "...Well, yeah, I guess so."

At hearing that answer, Luke grinned widely. Yep. I was right. "Wow! Master Van's so cool!

As Tear sighed quietly after hearing that, her gaze downcast, Jade nodded over to her. "Thank you, Tear. I would certainly like the chance to learn more about fonic hymns." The light glinted off his glasses at that, hiding his eyes from view. "Especially the Grand Fonic Hymn."

"'Grand Fonic Hymn'?" Luke repeated. "What's that?"

"The fonic hymn Yulia sang to use Lorelei's power," Ion answered. "It is proof of their covenant."

"...Shall we get going?" Tear asked all of us, having already started to walk away. "I believe I answered your question."

I stood up as everyone started to move out once again, pushing down my exhaustion for now.

The sooner we reach Kaitzur, the sooner we will be able to have some real rest and relaxation time.

* * *

**A bit of a short chapter in my opinion, but I feel obliged to update something since I haven't in a while.**

**The birthdays mentioned in this chapter? With the exception of Luke, Ion and Mieu, everyone else's birthdays are real. Found them on a site.**

**I made up Mieu and Ion's birthdays because I wanted to give them one, while Luke's (not Asch) real birthday was never stated.**

**Also… and one important thing I found… THE OFFICIAL AGES FOR SOME TEAR AND NATALIA ARE WRONG! If you do the calculations instead of just looking them up, you will see that they are.**

**For example… Hod fell 15 years before the game's start, and it was already stated that when it fell, Tear's mom was still pregnant with her. Subtract 15 years from the current date the game started (ND 2018), you will get the year ND 2003. Minus THAT from ND 2018, while keeping in mind that Tear's birthday is the last month of the year… and there you go.**

**Natalia being actually 19 by the time she joins the party needs a more simple calculation. Her birthdate listed in Largo's locket is on ND 1999, and Natalia herself was only a week or so old toddler when she was taken away to become the replacement of Kimlasca's dead princess. 2018 minus 1999 equals 19: and her birthday has already passed early on in the game.**

**Silly Bamco for making those mistakes…**

**With that… Review! Ciao, ciao!**


	13. Kaitzur

**I will admit… not much happened last chapter other than moving both the party and the plot along... so hopefully I made up for it here in this chapter.**

**28/01/11: In other news... if any of you had been reading the reviews for this story and had seen a certain review... then I feel the need to clarify that Self-insert stories, like the one I'm doing now, are NOT against the guidelines, and that THAT particular issue has already been discussed, confirmed and dealt with with the right people involved. So no worries... FitA's NOT going to get taken down anytime soon. I PROMISE you in all those facts. Forget that that certain review even existed, since it was just a mistake made on that person's part. That's all.**

**-EDIT- Ack! Also forgot to mention... OC Sam has her very own Formspring account, so if you have any questions to ask her, feel free to do so there! You don't even need to have an account! :D**

**www. formspring. me/SuccessingWitch**

**The link can also be found on my profile if you do not remember it later.**

**Now let's. Go!**

* * *

**Kaitzur**

It was very late in the afternoon- already sunset- when we all had finally reached the border fortress Kaitzur, much to everyone's relief.

Upon passing through the massive stone hedge which served as the official entryway to Kaitzur, I took a look at our surroundings. It's not that big of a place, so there's really not that much to see here.

There was but a single sandy pathway that went in a straight line from the entrance all the way to the large border gates further up ahead. Beyond them would be the path that would take us into Kimlascan territory. On either side of the gateway, two large blue Malkuth flags were held up: their ends fluttering slightly in the wind.

Over to our right up ahead and off the pathway is a white, medium-sized house with a blue roof. It's obviously the resting place for travelers, since I really don't see any other houses or facilities here.

What's a bit surprising to me is the number of people… or _lack _thereof, here. Being the border that connects two countries together, I was expecting this place to be a bit livelier. I guess most people are content with staying in their respective countries, decided to not waste any time and went on ahead without taking a rest at the resting house here, or it's because of all the rumors going around that a war's going to start that's keeping them from traveling to another country.

…I had a feeling that the last choice is the most likely reason.

"Everyone, we're getting close to Master's home, now!" Mieu announced happily. "I'm sure it will be amazing! I'm so excited!"

"Alright!" Luke cheered, pumping a fist close to his chest as he walked to the front of the party. For once he did not yell at Mieu for saying something. "We can have a decent night's sleep here, and by tomorrow, we'll be back in Kimlasca. And all this mess will be over with,_ finally!"_

"I'm a bit worried," Jade remarked, making everyone turn to him with raised eyebrows. Jade worried about something? That's rare. He crossed his arms and stared down at them pensively. "If Arietta could catch up with us at Fubras River, who's to say another God-General had found Anise on her way here from Saint Binah and captured her? I won't be surprise, since it's already known that the imperial letter is not on the Fon Master's person. Without it, even with Luke vouching for us, we're stuck."

"That's true…" Ion agreed with a sigh. "Anise has been on her own for too long."

"Nah, you don't have to worry about that," Luke claimed assertively, squinting at something far ahead. Everyone turned to look at him this time.

"Luke… why do you say that?" Tear asked, her eyes widened slightly. In response, Luke merely raised a hand and pointed one finger towards the direction of the border gates. He squinted his green eyes even further in concentration.

"Because… isn't _that _Anise?"

Everyone snapped their heads towards the border gates at that, me included. It was then that we noticed a small pink blur standing in front of it.

"Well," Jade remarked, all seriousness vanishing in an instant, replaced by amusement in its place. "Ask and you shall receive, I see."

"I'm sorry," Ion suddenly spoke up, a somewhat mischievous smile on his face. "I know this may seem like a childish request… but do you mind if we give her a bit of a surprise?"

"I see no problems with it," Jade immediately agreed with a smile of his own. Unlike Ion's smile- which is absolutely cute- on Jade, it just looked scary. "Especially if they are the Fon Master's wishes. Besides," he shrugged, "I just happen to have her passport in my possession from when I… borrowed it from her."

"Oh brother…" Guy shook his head. It was clear that he didn't know whether to be amused along with the rest of us for reason that we're about to surprise someone, or worried about the fact that Jade had snatched someone's (an ally, no less) passport for who-knows-what reasons. Tear looks the same as well, if the palm to her head and her closed eyes were of any indication.

"…Do as you wish," she finally said, resigned. I patted her on the arm. "…I don't even want to ask as to why you did Colonel, but please do return Anise's passport back to her after we're done with… this."

"It's all in good fun, Tear~" I sang before following everyone as they all moved towards the direction of the house and took refugee close to the walls opposite the side from where Anise was.

I already knew what was going to happen. Anise would be trying to sweet talk one of the guards into letting her pass the border despite her lack of a passport, and would only get her request declined.

"Knowing Anise," Jade started, his hands clasped casually behind his back, "and considering what may possibly happen next… it won't be too long now. …Nor it would be as hard to hear her."

Taking his word, everyone just opted to keep silent and waited.

…Annnd just a few twenty seconds or so later, we all heard stomping footsteps and dark mutterings as Anise marched right past where we were: a frightening, demonic look on her face. I distinctly heard Mieu letting out a frightened squeak.

"-who couldn't tell a sweet, cute and innocent girl in trouble when she's _right in front of him. _Bet he doesn't even have a girlfriend waiting for him. In fact, I hope he dies lonely and cold when he gets old," the young girl was cursing to herself as she walked: her fists clenched.

She stopped right in front of our hiding spot, still unaware of our presence though all she had to do was turn around. She planted her hands on her hips as she set her feet slightly far apart from each other as she glared (I could just _feel _it, even when her back was to us) towards the entrance where we just entered from.

"I'm never going to waste any more sweet words with that loser ever again," she decided, still clearly fuming. She raised a shaking fist up to her face. "He's not even _that_ handsome any way! I hope he gets fired by the end of the day, " she nodded to herself, her dark pigtails bobbing with the motion.

"Yeah! Maybe I should frame him for an accident! Or trick him into going somewhere with me alone so I could beat that worthless excuse of a soldier with Tokunaga and steal his wallet! " She chuckled in a rather sadistic way at that. "He better watch his back!"

…Oh my God… is Anise really _that_ vindictive?

Everyone had already moved away from the wall rather quietly. With the exception of Jade and Ion (who just both looked amused), everyone looked both wary and hesitant to get the young thirteen-year-old's attention.

Ion was the one who made our presence known.

"Anise," he called out to her casually with a smile, his shoulders shaking slightly with silent laughter. "Luke can hear you."

As if she had been shocked by lightning, Anise jumped a few feet into the air before spinning around to face us: one of her pigtails whipping into her face with how fast she had moved.

Never had I seen someone's face change into different expressions as quickly as Anise's had. First, her demonic expression that had been previously on her face had vanished instantly the moment she made eye contact with Ion. The expression that then took up its place consisted of a wide-eyed, open-mouthed shocked and surprised expression. Next, embarrassment at being caught in one of her not-so-cute moments. Finally, upon seeing Luke, she had a doe-eyed expression and a sweet smile on her lips: an attempt at looking sweet, adorable and innocent once again as well as, apparently, trying to pretend that the things she had just said and her plans for revenge had never happened.

All those expressions had flickered across her youthful face in a span of, like, two seconds.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in 'surprise', her gloved hands flying up to her mouth. I raised my eyebrows at her, though she was focusing all her attention on Luke now. Even her tone of voice had changed to sound like something more angelic.

"It's my darling~! My prince~!" Anise cried in a loving voice, similar to how a person would use upon seeing their long-lost lover after they had gone to war… or something.

…Anyway, as she said that, Anise ran towards Luke's direction, before using the momentum of her run to throw herself into the air at him. Looking surprised, Luke quickly opened his arms just in time to catch her before she fell. The force of it was hard enough to make Luke spin around once, now facing the rest of us and allowing us to see both of their faces at the same time.

At that same time, I noticed Guy moving backwards and further behind the group with a violent shudder: saying something about how women were scary. I let him be for now. He'll have to introduce himself to Anise sooner or later.

The red-haired noble looked absolutely _lost _as Anise snuggled into him. He gingerly put her down so that he feet is touching the ground, though that did not make Anise remove her arms from around his waist. She looked up at him with a sorrowful expression, her lips trembling ever so slightly.

"Luke! I'm so glad you're safe!" Anise cried once more, moving her arms so that they were clutching the front of Luke's coat. She then gave him a relieved face with a voice that sounded just as relieved. "I was so worried about you!"

"Uh, I…" Luke seemed to swallow once, clearly not knowing what to say. So it's understandable that he went with the obvious statement. "We were worried too." He then tried a question, probably trying to turn things (and Anise) back on a normal note again. "They said you were fighting and fell from the Tartarus?"

"Yeah…" Anise nodded, moving her gaze down so that Luke would not see the slight smile of pride on her face, and just hear her quiet and 'scared' tone of voice. "It was pretty scary…"

Ion chuckled, and then stepped forward with his free hand (since he's still holding onto his rod with the other) held slightly out.

"The poor thing must have been terrified," the green-haired boy said in what was supposed to be a sympathetic tone of voice. Unfortunately, since he's not as good as acting as Anise is, the amusement was crystal clear in his voice.

Ion then sighed, still smiling. "She screamed-" he raised his voice and made himself sound angry here (obviously mimicking Anise), "-_'I'll kill you bastards!'_-" he then sounded back to normal again, "-as she fell."

I slapped a hand over my mouth after hearing that, trying my best to keep my giggling quiet… and failing rather horribly at that. I couldn't help it! Seeing Ion trying to do an imitation of Anise when she's absolutely PO'd at the time, not to mention hear him say 'bastard', is absolutely hilarious. I thought that will be the closest for me to Ion swearing.

Promptly letting go of Luke from her grasp, Anise ran over to Ion before pressing her fingers to his lips and giving him an annoyed face that told him to otherwise be quiet. She mouthed the word 'Please' to him before going back over to Luke: a cheerful smile back on her face.

"I kept the imperial letter safe," she informed him, her chin raised proudly as she clasped her hands in front of her. "Aren't you proud of me, Luke~?"

He blinked down at her, still clearly confused by her behavior, yet chose to use the safest answer once again. "Oh, uh, yeah. Good job."

Elated at being given a praise from her object of affection, Anise clapped as she jumped on the spot. "Yay~!"

Jade chose that moment to step forward. "I'm glad you're safe, Anise."

Anise turned to face the Necromancer, her eyebrows raised in surprise. She quickly regained her composure: pulling down the hem of her skirt with one hand as the other was placed on the side of her face in a flattered posture.

"Oh my~! Were you worried about me too, Colonel?" she asked, tilting her head at him cutely.

Not even skipping a beat, Jade nodded and casually said, "Yes, we can't do a thing without that letter."

Anise's face fell at that, and she gave him an irked pout with her hands on her hips. "You're mean…"

I snorted. "I wasn't _worried_, buut… I admit, it's kind of boring when you're not around." I shrugged. "What can I say? I missed you keeping things lighthearted and fun. I guess you're the life of this party."

"I missed Anise too~!" Mieu piped up from his place on the ground. "I'm so happy that Anise is safe! Thank you for all your hard work!"

Anise perked up again at hearing that. "At least _some people _appreciated me!" She barked over to Jade before bounding over to me with both of her hands held up. "And just to let you know, I did a good job of protecting Fon Master Ion by giving an Oracle Soldier the best beating of his lifetime!"

"Yay, right on," I praised with a smile as I clapped both of her hands with my own and allowed them to stay intertwined for a while. Once again, I was being reminded of how _short_ I was: especially when standing right in front of Anise. In the game, they showed her as someone pretty short, but in reality, she's actually at a decent height for a girl her age to some people, I guess. Since she's only just three inches shorter than me, she stopped right in my line of sight. Basically, she ended right where my eyes were located.

Then again, compared to this reality, the game now seemed almost like a joke to compare it with.

_And I never felt self-conscious about my height before, too… The women back home aren't this taaaaaall! I'm the tallest female from my mother's side of the family!_

And my height compared to the others? With Ion, I reached up to the center of his forehead, and with Luke, I reached up to where his eyes were. With Guy, I reached up until the crook of his neck it seems, while with Jade, since he's only a _little_ taller than Guy, I only reached up past his chest.

…No wonder Tear has no problems with wearing heels, despite the difficulties in running around with them.

Anise moved her head to stare at something behind me. After letting go of our hands, I turned to see who it was she was staring at.

"Oh? And who're you?" Anise asked Guy, curious.

Guy, having seem to regained his composure from Anise's personality earlier, straightened up and held out his one of his hands in an apologetic gesture. "Oh, sorry. I'm Guy, a servant of Luke's. Pleased to meet you Anise, I heard a lot about you from the others."

"Really? _Luke's_ servant?" Anise asked excitedly, her eyes widening. Then, apparently mistaking Guy's outstretched hand as a gesture for a handshake, quickly skipped over to him with her arm stretched out.

The reaction… was instantaneous.

"_GWAHHH!_"

I casually took hold of Anise's shoulder and gently pulled her back to my side as Guy jumped back, tripped, and then fell right onto his butt. Using his hands to pull himself further away from where the two of us were standing: shaking violently and staring at us with fearful wide eyes.

I looked over to Anise, and her eyes had grown wide as she gaped at the blond man, dumbfolded.

"He has gynophobia," I told her. "Fear of women, so… don't take it personally."

"I also got the same reaction from him…" Tear added wearily. "Now, shall we go into a more serious matter now? How are we going to get past the checkpoint? Some of us don't have passports."

"Speaking of which..." Jade held up a small card. "I believe this is yours, Anise."

"_Colonel! _You had my passport the _entire_ time?" Anise asked with surprise after the card was handed over to her and she accepted it with a relieved smile. "Oh, thank you, thank you, I thought I lost it! ...Wait a second..." she looked up at the brunet male, her eyes narrowed. "...Why did you have my passport in the first place?"

Smiling casually, Jade merely shrugged and held up his hands. "Well, considering how hesitant you were the first time I requested your aid back in Daath, I had to take precautionary measures should you have any second thoughts."

Anise gave him a dry look before heaving a heavy sigh. "The Colonel... still as suspicious of others as ever..."

"It should be fine!" Luke assured us, pointing a thumb to his chest with a smirk. "All I have to do is tell the guards who I am, and they'll let us through in no time. Wait here."

"Luke, wait!" Luke had already ran off towards the direction of the border gates, his long red hair blowing out from behind him.

Guy, having recovered from his little panic episode, shook his head as he walked in front of the party to see Luke heading towards the guards. "Someone needs to stop hi-" he suddenly stopped mid-sentence, staring at something above the border gates. His blue eyes widened as he started to run towards Luke. "Luke! Stop and parry! _Stop and parry, NOW!"_

"Wha-?" Anise started to ask, but Jade quickly answered for all of us, a grim look on his face as I looked towards the direction of where Luke and Guy had gone just in time to see a figure jump down on Luke from above with their sword drawn.

"It's Asch the Bloody!"

The door to the inn next to us was suddenly thrown open as someone rushed out and ran towards the fight with their own sword drawn.

"..._Van?" _Tear gasped, watching as the man jumped high up and landed right in front of Asch just as he was about to strike a fallen Luke with his sword. When both of their weapons clashed, Guy stopped where he was, and the rest of us all ran closer to the scene.

"_Stand down, Asch!" _we heard Van order the God-General in a deep, gravelly voice: their weapons still locked together. Asch's back was to all of us while Van was facing our direction with Luke still on the ground behind him.

Asch refused to back down, obviously wanting to kill Luke right on the spot. "Out of the way, Van!" he grunted.

Van narrowed his eyes threateningly at the man in front of him. "What do you think you're doing? I don't recall giving any orders like this. _Now stand down!"_

Their swords finally unlocked from each other and both men quickly jumped back. The Malkuth guards by the entrance of the border guards drew their own weapons and started to approach the God-General.

"Cease your attack immediately, or we'll arrest you for disorderly conduct!" one of them shouted with authority, pointing his sword at the red-head.

After a loud growl and a muttered curse, Asch sheathed his sword before jumping up to the top of the border gate, and fled as soon as he reached the top.

Van watched him go with an impassive face, sheathing his own sword as he did so. When they were sure that Asch was gone, the two guards returned to their posts and Van seemed to relax slightly.

_Van... _I frowned while moving backwards until I was right behind Jade. Even though I probably shouldn't worry about Van being aware of my presence... he still... unnerved me. Because of that, I didn't want him to see me at all, especially when knowing his true motives.

He was garbed in a white Oracle Knight uniform with grey sleeves and with orange linings forming two heart-like symbols on the center of his chest, and a high black neck-collar along with those black spiky things on his shoulders. The sheath for his sword was placed on his left hip.

He was tall man that looked to be in his late twenties. A bit taller than even Jade. He possessed a tanned skin with sharp and narrow green eyes. Van also has long, light-brown hair that is the exact same shade as Tear's tied up into a short, messy ponytail. His eyebrows were bushy, and he has a pointed beard underneath his chin. He looked both old and young at the same time, if that was possible.

"Master!" That excited shout was from Luke, who sat up with a wince. He moved a hand to the back of his head with a pained grimace, one of his eyes shut in pain.

Van turned towards his student, regarding him for a moment before reaching down and picking up a fallen sword. Luke's sword.

"Luke... that parry was pathetic," he scolded as he handed the weapon to the teenager.

Luke flinched a bit from the observation made, accepting his sword and putting it away in the sheath strapped to his back. That done, he looked up at Van with an incredulous look. "We meet up after all that's happened and _that's_ the first thing you say?"

_"Van!"_ Both men turned when Tear rushed to the very front of the group, her staff in one hand and a throwing knife in another as she took on a fighting stance.

Despite the threat posed in front of him, Van only shook his head. "Tear, put away your weapons. You misunderstand," he advised his younger sister calmly.

"What do you mean?" Tear questioned suspiciously, not letting up the slightest bit.

"Calm down," Van repeated his advice. "Once you're ready to listen to me, come to the inn."

Seeing that Van's about to head his way towards the inn, Luke quickly stood up straight. "Master!" his call stopped Van for a moment as he waited to hear what his student has to say.

"Thank you for saving me!" Luke said gratefully in a sincere voice.

Van nodded in response. "It must have been hard for you, Luke. You've done an admirable job. I'd expect no less from my pupil."

The young red-haired duke had absolutely _beamed_ with pride and elation at that, having just been praised by the person he idolized the most. "Thank you!"

As Luke chuckled with joy, Van made his way towards the still-open entrance door of the inn and went inside, closing the door behind him quietly when he did. Tear had watched him the entire time with a skeptical gaze.

"Tear, let's listen to hear what Van has to say," Ion suggested. "I think it would be foolish to insist on fighting and ignore the chance to communicate."

"Yeah," Luke agreed, looking at Tear with a sneer. "Seriously, how bloodthirsty are you?"

Tear closed her eyes, putting away her throwing knife with a quiet sigh. "As you wish, Fon Master."

Guy nodded to Tear in encouragement. "Well, let's go see Van."

* * *

"Have you calmed down yet?" Van had asked minutes later after we had all taken a seat.

We were in one of the inn's private rooms. There were three beds situated in a row on the right side of wall, with long, wooden-pane windows that are veiled with blue curtains. At the far left corner of the room was a small, round table with small chairs, and at the far side wall opposite from the door, there was a bookshelf.

Along with the other rooms I noticed upon entering this inn, is that the flooring of the room as well as the walls were made out of wood, and wasn't painted a white color like the way it was outside. Finally, the ceiling of the entire inn was a dark-blue in color.

Obviously, since not many people would stay here for too long, the people that work here did not bother to make the place more lavish. Not that I'm complaining, I also don't see the point in doing something like that. At least the inn wasn't falling apart and filled with dust and cobwebs.

Van had turned one of the chairs by the table around so that he could be seated while facing the rest of us. Anise and Ion were seated together on one of the beds along with Mieu while Luke and I were seated in another. Jade was leaning against the wall next to the door with Guy nearby: apparently fine with just standing in one place. Tear had chosen to stand right in front of her brother, where she could clearly see his face when talking to him.

"Why are you trying to interfere with Fon Master Ion's efforts to prevent war?" Tear immediately demanded, getting straight to the point.

Van took in a deep breath and let out a tired sigh, his shoulders slumping from the motion as he closed his eyes. "Are you still saying that?" he asked slowly, in the same way a father would to a child when they kept saying nonsensical things despite the fact they should know better.

Luke jumped in immediately, staring at Van with wide, trusting eyes. "She's wrong, isn't she, Master?" Luke looked all in the world like a young child that's been told that Santa Claus isn't real, and is looking at his father to say otherwise.

"But the Six God-Generals and their commander are trying to kidnap Ion!" Tear pointed out angrily, her eyes narrowed.

Van raised a hand up, opening his eyes to look at her with a frown. "Calm down, Tear. I have no idea why the Fon Master is even here to begin with. All I've heard from the Order is that Ion vanished from the cathedral in Daath."

"I'm sorry, Van. I did that of my own volition," Ion informed apologetically.

Van turned to face the young Fon Master. "I'd appreciate it if you'd fill me on what's happened up until now."

"I'm the one who took Ion away." Everyone turned to face Jade when he pushed himself away from the way. Standing straight, he pushed his glasses back up his nose as he continued. "Allow me to explain…"

Jade then explained everything that had happened from the very beginning, even before we had met with him in Cheagle Woods. He had explained everything in full detail, including parts that he had not even told us about until now.

Emperor Peony Upala IX had written a formal letter of peace between Malkuth and the country of Kimlasca, and had sent Jade to Daath as a representative in order to request Ion's aid as the neutral ambassador, in order to oversee the formal proceedings.

Jade had met up with both Ion and Grand Maestro Mohs at the Daath cathedral, and told them of Peony's plans about peace between the two countries. Before he could get a real response from Ion however, Mohs had sent him away: saying that they will give him an official response the next day at the port.

When the next day arrived, only Mohs was there to meet up with Jade, and told him that Ion had suffered a sudden fatal illness, and needs to be confined in bed until he gets better. Since Ion was unable to see Jade himself, he had sent Mohs as a messenger instead. After telling Jade that, Mohs had told Jade that Ion has declined the request to cooperate for peace between the two nations.

Even then, Jade could tell that something was amiss, so he went in search for Anise, who he knew was Ion's Fon Master Guardian at the time, and told he that he wanted an appointment with the "sick" Ion.

Despite not entirely okay with it, Anise did went to talk about it with Ion later on that day. And… surprise, surprise… Ion wanted to help no matter what. So he ordered Anise to help take him away from Daath with Jade. It turned out that Mohs had lied about Ion being sick and had given him a "break" by confining him inside the cathedral.

A short time after Anise and Jade had met up again to discuss things, Jade had started a public riot by spreading word among the people of Daath about how Ion was being locked away in his own room. And the people of Daath, who both adored and loved Ion immensely for all he did for them, got absolutely _enraged_. So much so, the entire civilian population of Daath had all gathered together in front of the church and started a mass protest.

While Mohs and the knights were busy trying to restore order and calm everyone down, Anise took that opportunity to get Ion out of Daath safely, where they met up with Jade by the port so he could bring them aboard the Tartarus. After picking up the official imperial letter declaring peace between the two nations from Engeve, they would go straight to Kimlasca.

And the rest, to some of us in the main party, is history. I allowed myself to space out when Jade started to explain the incidents that I'm already familiar with to Van, and only allowed myself to start listening in again when Jade was done speaking.

Van nodded slowly in thought after Jade had finished, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he looked up towards the ceiling. "…I see," he murmured. "I do command the Six God-Generals, but they are part of the Grand Maestro faction. It's likely they're under orders from Grand Maestro Mohs."

"I see now," Guy remarked, his eyes widening in realization. "You may have been recalled to steal Ion back from the local military."

"Yes, perhaps so," Van agreed. "The one who attacked you earlier, Asch, is also one of the Six God-Generals." He looked down with his arms crossed. "But even I didn't know he was involved in this matter."

"Then, are you saying you have nothing to do with all this?" Tear asked, still clearly not convinced. Despite her suspicions however, it's not like she can deny what happened at Daath was false, especially if three people here, one which included the Fon Master, could confirm it. And it was very clear that Mohs seems to be the most likely person giving out all the commands at the moment.

"No," Van looked back up at Tear again, "considering I was unaware of what my own troops were doing, I must take some responsibility." He then shook his head. "But I don't side with the Grand Maestro faction."

Anise gasped at that. "That's news to me, Commandant!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes wide as she covered her mouth with one hand.

"I'm the leader of the Six God-Generals, so people tend to assume I side with the Grand Maestro." Van shrugged casually. He then pinned his gaze on his sister. "For that matter, Tear, you're part of the intelligence division under the Grand Maestro's command. Why are _you_ here?"

Tear pursed her lips tightly at that, looking a bit irked at the fact that Van's probably trying to turn the table around on her. "I'm searching for something under orders from Mohs," she answered curtly. "I can't say any more than that."

"…The Seventh Fonstone?" Van guessed.

Tear narrowed her eyes even further at that. "…I'm not at liberty to say."

"The 'Seventh Fonstone'?" Luke repeated cluelessly, speaking up for the first time after a while. "What's that?"

I exhaled, feeling sorry for the kid when everyone, minus Van, turned to look at him incredulously. I suppose that is this were Earth, the reaction would be pretty similar if someone asked what an iPod is. I, myself, don't have any right to look at him like that since, if I hadn't already completed the game already once, I would also be the same person at the receiving end of those looks.

"What?" Luke snapped angrily. "Quit looking at me like I'm stupid!"

"Talk about a sheltered life…" Guy commented sheepishly, rubbing his head.

"Uh… Guy?" I piped up, giving him an apologetic smile. "Um, I… don't think you have any right to say that, since he _is_ your charge."

He flinched slightly at that. "…Well, I guess it _is_ partly fault for not teaching him what it is…"

Tear was the one who explained what the Seventh Fonstone is to the young noble. "It's part of the Score that Yulia read 2000 years ago. The world's future written within."

"The Score was so long, it took up seven fonstones, each the size of a mountain," Ion continued where she left off. "Eventually the stones broke apart. Some became the fon belt you see in the sky. Others fell to the earth."

Anise was next. "Malkuth and Kimlasca both tried to claim the stones that fell to land, and that led to war." She held up a finger. "Because, if you have the fonstones, you can learn the future."

Luke did his best to process all the information just given to him. "Huh…" he said slowly. "So… the thing with the 'Score' written on it is called the 'Seventh Fonstone,' huh?"

Jade nodded in confirmation. "It's said that Yulia hid the Seventh herself after she read the Score. Therefore, numerous powers have been searching for the Seventh Fonstone."

…If I remember correctly, the Seventh Fonstone was hidden away on Hod when it was still intact. After the island fell, the Seventh Fonstone fell to the core of the planet, didn't it?

"And that's what Tear is looking for now?" Luke was asking.

Tear crossed her arms and merely shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"At any rate, I have nothing to do with Mods," Van stated with decision. "I'll order the Six God-Generals not to interfere with you all, though I don't know how much good it will do."

Guy, apparently remembering something, quickly asked, "Van, what about passports?"

"Oh, yes." Van took out a few papers from the bag that I just noticed was lying at the bottom next to the table. "Duke Fabre has entrusted me with temporary passports. With the spares I brought just in case, there are just enough for all of you."

After making a quick head count, he took out a few passports from his bag and walked over to Luke to hand them over to him. The younger male held them up to take a better look at them and I leaned closer to have a look as well. The passports here looked almost like orange credit cards with many Fonic characters scribbled on the front.

"Now we can cross the border," Luke said, evidently relieved.

"You should get some rest here before you go," Van advised us all kindly. "I'll go on ahead across the border and ready a ship."

"So, we'll meet up at the Kaitzur Naval Port?" Guy asked for clarification.

Van nodded in confirmation. "Right. Once you cross the border, just follow the sea and you'll be there shortly." He smiled when he then added as a slight joke, "Don't get lost, now. I already paid for everyone's rooms here, so don't worry about payment. Now, if you'll excuse me."

With that, Van took his bag and left the room, closing the door on his way out. After the footsteps from the hallways faded away, I breathed a sigh of relief as Luke turned to face Tear with a smug look. "See? I told you Master Van wasn't doing anything wrong."

"I don't trust him," she told him, making him angry once again.

"Oh yeah? Well, I don't trust _you_," he sneered.

Tear merely closed her eyes and shrugged at that. "That's fine with me."

Guy chuckled with amusement at the exchange between the two. "Nice friendly relationship you two have there."

"You think so?" I asked him with a smirk. "Because Jade said the same thing back at the Cheagle Woods when he called them lovers."

"I remember that too!" Mieu exclaimed with a huge smile.

"You two better shut up about that now, or I'll hit you so hard, I'll _make_ you forget!" Luke threatened us with a shaking fist.

"Touchy, touchy," Jade scolded with mirth. "No need to get all flustered with something that is known as a fact."

"Colonel, please stop that ridiculous joke," Tear pleaded, the back of her palm pressed against her head as if she got a headache. She then held out a hand towards Luke. "...Regardless, for now, I'll have to accept this and have faith in my brother's words, if it means getting you back home faster. Only for now."

"Hmph," Luke scoffed, but handed over one of the passports to her anyway. "How ungrateful."

"Say what you will," was all that she replied with. "It still won't change my thoughts."

"I'll… just take my passport too, now." With one hand, I pulled one of the passports out of Luke's hand with two fingers before slipping it into my bag. "So… we'll be staying here for the night, or just a few hours before crossing the border?"

"Staying overnight is the best course of action," Jade responded. "The border crossing will take quite a long time. It would be best if we rest up and save all of our energy for that, less someone gets exhausted midway and slow everyone else down."

"…Why the heck are you looking at me when you say that?" Luke grumbled when he saw Jade was indeed staring at him.

"Oh, no reason, really," the Necromancer said insincerely, waving a hand in a dismissive notion.

Anise hopped out of the bed she was sitting on with a flourish, holding two fingers up to her forehead and her other hand resting on her hip in a cute, girl scout-like pose.

"Well, now that all the boring stuff is over, let's talk about something more interesting: like _dinner~! _It's already that time now, after all~!_" _Anise dropped her pose when she was sure that everyone's attention was now on her, and she turned to Luke with a sweet smile. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest.

"Luke~? You haven't tried my cooking yet, have you?"

The red-head blinked, all annoyance that was previously there now replaced by bemusement once more: as it always did whenever Anise was talking to him in such a sugary manner. "Er, no. Why?"

Her smile becoming even bigger, Anise hopped in place a few times in excitement. "Then I'll cook for you tonight!" She stopped hopping, now giving him a doe-like, mournful expression. "After all the long time we spent so far apart, I'll pour all of my heart into tonight's cooking to show to you my happiness at being reunited with you, my prince~! My sweet darling~!"

_"Oh my Goood…"_ I mouthed quietly to myself, bringing one knee up to my chest and wrapping an arm around it. I hid my face into my knee to hide the large smile I had. This is both too amusing and embarrassing to watch at the same time…

_Doesn't she feel embarrassed, acting like that in front of everyone at all?_

I brought my head up to look over to Guy. His eyebrows had risen high up, and he was gaping slightly at Anise. It looked like he was torn between shaking in fear and laughing at the look on his charge's face. Tear had closed her eyes and was shaking her head while both Ion and Jade just looked mildly amused.

And the object of Anise's affection himself? The poor dear looked really lost now, clearly not sure what to say next in response to that. Once again, I was reminded of the fact that no female had ever acted that way towards Luke.

The red-haired duke suddenly coughed once into his fist. "Uh… um, sure? That would be… great."

I snorted quietly at that, burying my face into my knee once again. The boy's giving that girl all the wrong signals with his choice of words so far, even if he's probably just trying to be polite back to the person who had been nothing but a sweetheart to him ever since they met.

And I was right too. After Luke had said that, Anise's face had positively beamed.

"Then...!" The pink-clad girl suddenly turned around and ran out of the room. "_I'll go get everything ready right now! Please wait a while, everyone!"_

Everyone was silent even after Anise had left. Eventually it was broken by Guy, who turned to face Luke with a raised eyebrow.

"Luke… Princess Natalia's _definitely_ going to kill you."

* * *

"I don't get it."

"_Mieu?_ What do you mean?"

While everyone was waiting for Anise to finish cooking in this inn's kitchen, we all had separated to do our own stuff. Jade had gone to discuss some things with the guards here, Tear and Guy had gone outside together while Luke stayed in the room we were previously in to write in his diary.

Anise was obviously cooking, and since Luke had made it clear that he didn't want Mieu to be in the same room as him while he writes in his diary, I took that opportunity to steal the cheagle away into the inn's main lobby to have him do something I've been wanting him to do for a while.

"This," I placed the palm of my hand against the sheet of paper on the table in front of me. On the other side of the paper, Mieu was sitting on his furry little tush, cradling a pencil to his side with his tiny paws.

"You seem to have an easier time writing the Fonic Alphabet than reading it," I noted, nodding to the characters written on the sheet. "Just found it a bit… you know."

"_Mieu?" _Mieu blinked down on the paper in front of him. "Writing is just easier to me. That's all!" he said cheerfully, making me smile. This little guy is always in a good mood, isn't he?

"They say, that if you want to be able to read something written in a language you're not familiar with, you need to learn how to write it first," Ion piped up, nodding in confirmation to himself. He was seated in a chair situated to my left, his staff placed against it on his side. He had his chin cupped in his hands leisurely, his elbows resting against the wooden surface of the table.

He tilted his head to the side a bit. "That, and I'm sure it's also because you're giving Mieu some easy words to spell."

I let out a breath through my nose with mild amusement. "Is that a bad thing? I just needed to see how good Mieu is at reading and writing first before I throw out statements for him to write down or anything like that. He even said that he's not that good."

"But if you keep practicing like this, Mieu," Ion directed his next words to the cheagle with an encouraging smile, who looked up with his puffy ears down against the side of his head. Aw, cute… "I'm sure you'll be as good as all of us in no time."

"I'll try my best!" the baby cheagle promised, his free hand raised up. In response, Ion lightly tapped his pointer finger against his paw in the same way one would do a high-five.

"Okay, next word," I said, crossing my arms and staring down at the paper in front of me. "Um… man. Write 'man' next."

For the past several minutes now, I had been making Mieu have a 'writing test', so to speak, and Ion- who was free and had nothing else to do- had joined us at our table to help out as well. But really, the only reason I was making Mieu do this is so I could make a list of all the Fonic Alphabetical characters and what they all looked like for my own personal uses. A Fon Alphabet key, if you will, since I'll be converting them into English the best I could.

How would I be able to tell which character is which after we're done? Simple: I had Mieu spell out simple things in alphabetical order. Like, the first word I had him wrote was 'apple', while the next word is 'bat', the one after that is 'can', with the next word _after _that being 'doll' and so on and so on. I would just take the first character of each word to put into my list later on when I'm free and alone.

During the time it took when we all had been traveling to Fubras River, I had already memorized what every Gald coin and bill looked like, as well as how much each of them are worth.

Aw… but the Fonic Alphabet just looked so hard to memorize, much less read and write. To me, they all looked like glyph patterns used in some kind of magic ritual, if anything. Heck, even the _numerical signs_ are different here! I found out about that particular fact when I had been trying to count the money I had gotten on my own.

The _only_ reason that I could _just_ tell the _difference _between each Gald piece at the moment is because of their (in the case of coins) size and (in the case of bills) their colors. But that did not mean that I know what each of their values are… yet.

Once I'm done with Mieu's 'test', I'm sure that that problem could be solved. Which was why at the very beginning, I told him to write down the numbers from 0 to 10. 'Just make sure that you know how to count as well,' was what I had given out as my excuse. Thankfully, there are only ten numerical signs that I have to memorize, as opposed to the… what… twenty-six characters of the Fonic Alphabet?

Oh, wait… I forgot. Make that _twenty-five_ characters. I had forgotten to mention that, apparently, the characters for the letters 'g' and 'j' are the same. How that worked, I have no idea. On the bright side… it gave me just one less character to worry about, I guess.

"Done~!" Mieu chirped.

"Well Ion? Is it right?" I asked. The green-haired boy took a look at the three-character word that had just been written down, and then nodded in approval.

"Yes. It is," he informed before complimenting the cheagle. "So far so good, Mieu. No spelling mistakes so far yet."

"Thank you~!" Mieu gushed. "I did my best!"

"Why don't you check as well, Samantha?" Ion inquired. I quickly gave him a smile despite the slight panic I felt in my chest.

"You said you wanted to help, so I'm giving you a job to do," I answered, still smiling. "I'm telling Mieu what to write, and you check if he's right. See? That's fair, right? I just don't want you to feel left out."

He blinked at that, but seemed to have bought it anyway. "Well… I guess that's right."

_Oh, Ion… you really are so gullible. I'm actually feeling guilty in having to lie to someone like you, you know._

"Next," I then said simply.

There was silence after that, with both Ion and Mieu staring at me. I gave them a confused look in return.

"…What?" I finally asked after a while of them just… staring at me in an expectant sort of way.

"We're waiting for the next word," Ion pointed out. I blinked, giving him a bemused look.

"I just told you," I told him with a frown. Didn't they hear what I just said?

Mieu, however, shook his head while Ion, looking just as confused as I probably felt, frowned. "But… you didn't…"

"Sure I did." I raised my eyebrows at him. "Next."

"Huh? But- oh!" Ion blinked, his eyes widening with realization. It was then it finally hit me what the problem was, and I couldn't help but smirk with amusement.

"The next word that I wanted you to write, Mieu…" I chuckled, "…is 'next'. Heh, not…" I waved my hand vaguely, though they already knew what I meant.

"Oh!" Mieu rubbed his head with his free hand in a flustered way. In order to hide his embarrassment, he bowed his head down as he took his time in slowing writing the word down.

"It was my mistake as well," Ion laughed slightly. "I just thought…"

"Mehh, it's fine~" I waved a hand again, this time in a reassuring way. "It happens."

For the next several minutes, we just continued with what we were doing: me giving Mieu short words, him writing them down, and Ion making sure that they were spelled correctly. By the end, I found out that not only the letters g and j share the same character, but the letters b and v are the same as well. As soon as we were done, the entrance door to the lobby swung open, and Guy walked in, followed by Tear.

"But man… was that really necessary?" Guy was asking when they both entered. For some reason, he looked a bit tired whereas the melodist of our party looked satisfied.

"Did something happen?" Ion inquired, his eyebrows raised high.

In response, the blond man motioned his chin towards Tear. "She just jumped me without warning out there! I almost had a heart attack!"

"_Wha-haat~?"_ I asked, laughing midway. The idea of Tear jumping Guy was… strange, to say the least.

"I merely wanted to make sure that his phobia won't become a liability should by some chance we get attacked by a female in the near future, in the same way we did with Arietta," Tear explained. "Fortunately, he seems fine when fighting with a woman."

Bending forward a bit, Guy rubbed the back of his head while he shoved his free hand into his pocket. "Well, yeah. I mean, I would be too busy on being focused on fighting for my_ life _in those kind of scenarios than someone's gender." He then looked over to Tear, his eyebrows raised when he did. "…And you _did_ look pretty serious out there."

"My apologies," Tear apologized, a very small smile on her lips. "It's important that I needed to make sure, and I needed you to believe that I wanted to kill you."

"Understandable," he agreed, waving it off with a brown gloved hand. "I get where you're coming from. You just gave me one heck of a shock, that's all."

I shook my head, still smiling. "I still can't believe that Tear jumped Guy…" I then had a sudden thought. "You're lucky Luke didn't see that. Or else he. Would. _Raaaage…_" I whispered the last word dramatically with a smirk.

"If he did about that, then it just shows that he's worried," Guy stated with a knowing smile. "…Though he probably would never admit it."

"Because Master's a great person like that!" Mieu added with adoration.

"Oh, Mieu…" Tear murmured with a sigh as she walked up to our table. "You shouldn't allow him to treat you the way he does: it's not right." She then noticed the sheet of paper lying at the center of the table, covered with Mieu's squiggly handwriting. "…Mieu, did you write all these?"

"Yes, Tear!" Mieu confirmed, planting his paws on his hips and puffing his chest out proudly. "I did a good job, didn't I? I did my best!"

Tear chuckled at that, reaching out and rubbing his head. "Of course you did, Mieu. It's very nice."

"Oh there you are," the sound of Jade's voice made us all turn towards another door in the lobby which leads to the dining room. "I just wanted to let you all know that Anise had finished cooking, so it's time to come to the dining room and eat."

We all continued to stare at him silently for a long while. Jade seemed unfazed by all of our sudden interest in him, however.

"Oh dear, is there something on my face?" he asked casually, having no note of bother in his tone at all despite his choice of words.

"No…" I replied, my eyebrows raised as I continued to stare at his face along with everyone else. "It's what's _not _on your face that got our attention. Jade, where're your glasses?"

That's right… the reason that everyone is staring at Jade at that moment is because his usual glasses were absent from his face: making his red eyes look even more intense.

At my question, Jade raised a finger and ran it along the bridge of his nose. "Hm, it seems to be like I dropped them somewhere."

"You're not worried about them being lost, Jade?" Ion asked, looking a bit concerned. "Perhaps if we all look together…"

"No, no, there would be no need," the Malkuth colonel had dismissed airily. "I could always get them replaced."

I blinked. That's weird… Jade did not look like the kind of person who could easily lose his things, much less misplace them. So how could he lose his _glasses_, of all things? The man rarely, if ever, even took them off during the day!

Also, if I remembered correctly, Jade's glasses are limiters to his Fonic Sight. In that case, shouldn't they be a specific type of glasses? Now however, Jade was acting as if it did not matter what pair of glasses he should wear. I would ask him, but he had never mentioned anything about his Fonic Sight yet, and doing so would get me some unwanted questions.

I looked over as Ion got up from his seat and started to head towards the dining room. "Then, let's not keep her waiting everyone."

"Let's go, Mieu," Tear said to the cheagle, who happily hopped into her arms. With that, she followed after the Fon Master.

"I'll go and tell Luke, then," Guy informed us before he headed off towards the stairs and up to the second floor to the guy's room.

After packing everything that was on the table into my satchel, I got up and was about to walk towards when Jade suddenly stopped me by quickly saying, "Oh, just one moment. Would you mind doing me a favor?"

I stopped walking and turned to look up at him. "Yeah? What is it?"

He held up a small folded piece of paper that I just noticed that he had been holding. After he had unfolded it, he turned it so that I could see the writings on it.

Oh wait… oh no, don't tell me…

My worries are confirmed when he said, "Do you mind giving Anise's receipt for tonight's dinner a quick skim and tell me if there are any kind of peppers added. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with these kind of things, but I'm quite allergic, and Anise is making curry tonight."

"Can't you read it yourself?" I asked suspiciously, giving him a look. Shoot, I need to get out of this. I can't let him know that I can't read. If by chance he doesn't find it suspicious even a little bit, then he'll just _never_ let me hear the end of it.

"I would," he answered, his tone of voice feigning sadness rather poorly, "but I'm afraid I just can't see well without my glasses. Doing this shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"

Oh that… he's totally _lying! _I _know_ he can see just fine without his glasses, so just what the hell is he trying to _do?_

Could it be that… he's on to me? No matter how I see, there's definitely something off about Jade's so-called 'innocent' request.

I glared at the foreign characters written on the paper in front of me. "No," I answered quickly.

He tilted his head to the side slightly, looking interested. "Oh? You're declining?"

"I meant, no, there aren't any peppers," I corrected him, my arms crossed. "You can still eat. Now, is that all, Jade?"

"Quite," he replied casually with a nod. Not wanting to stay with him any longer, I quickly left the room and made my way towards the dining area.

…Obviously, that answer I gave was just a random one that I threw out into the open. Even if Jade's sincere about his allergies (though I doubt it is) and I'm wrong about my guess, I can _still_ just say that it's a prank on my part to get back at Jade for all the times he has teased me so far. I mentally patted myself on the back for finding a quick solution to get myself out of this predicament.

Despite the fact that that meeting looked like it had gone well however… I still couldn't shake the feeling of unease away from myself. I have a strong feeling that somehow… maybe, just _maybe_ that I'm being tested. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Jade, of all people, manages to connect the dots. I mean, how many facts did he have against me now? I know for a fact that he's way too perceptive even for his own good.

…But if he knew that something was up about me, wouldn't he have confronted me about it by now? I'm not sure what exactly his frame of thinking is like. Does he still need more evidence? Is he just biding his time? Is he still trying to figure things out? Is he still unsure about what kind of person I really am? I don't know…

I wanted to think that he's not doing anything about me, I really do. But… seriously, it's _Jade_. Since when does anything he does is innocent? I would just be lying to myself if I want to believe if that were the case. That, and the fact that that uncomfortable feeling that I have still hasn't gone away… it's worrisome.

I shook my head, letting out a tired sigh as I rubbed my temples.

…Hopefully, though… maybe I'm just probably thinking too much again anyway, and that maybe some food will help calm me down. I'm _very_ curious to see if Anise's cooking is as good as the game portrayed them to be, anyway.

There can't be anything wrong… right? I mean, I'm hiding everything well enough… did I?

* * *

...Oh... my... God...

Scratch what I had thought earlier. 'Good' is not even the _least likely _word used to describe Anise's cooking. It's... it's... heck, it's _beyond delicious_! I... I really don't know! Words just can't describe just how awesome this food tasted like. Every bite's like a piece of heaven: sending all of my taste buds into a happy, tingly dance. For dinner, Anise had made curry with rice and cut up pieces of chicken and pork. I found myself having Anise's meal slowly, just to savor each and every taste.

"Woah… it's like… it's like you somehow managed to get all of Uncle's best chefs or something," Luke commented in amazement, taking another spoonful of curry and popping it into his mouth. _"Ough… dis iz der bes mool evor."_

"Don't eat with your mouth full, Luke," Guy reminded him lightly. "But really, Anise… this is great. Better than my cooking, even. I applaud." And Guy did applaud.

Anise giggled dreamily, her head resting on both of her gloved hands as she rested her elbows on the table. "I'm so flattered~. But really…" she shook her head in a way like it's no big deal, "I just made this meal with my heart full of feelings for you, Luke~!"

…So… is this really what love-filled cooking tasted like, then? Oh my God… because if I am to believe that Anise really has those kind of feelings for Luke…

…Anise is just a good cook. She just has a lot of talent in the kitchen. No way… no way does she have any real love towards Luke, considering the short time they knew each other. Yes… I don't believe in 'love at first sight', as you can see. Those kind of things are only possible in cheesy romance fiction stories.

I shoved another spoonful of curry into my mouth to stop my chuckle from being heard. I could not say that same for the grin I felt on my lips, though.

"I have to say, Anise... this is impressive," Tear remarked, tracing her plate with her spoon.

"I'm jealous," I stated after I had chewed and swallowed. "I'm not as good as you are. Far from it. I only know the simple stuff."

"You're really wonderful!" Mieu praised.

"Looks like you made everyone happy, Anise," Ion noted, nodding over to her.

"...Not everyone, though." With that statement, Anise nudged Jade, who was sitting right next to her, with her elbow. "Colonel~! Come on, tell me what you think!"

Jade did not reply for a while. Instead, he continued to chew curry he was eating, taking his sweet time doing so. Ah, that's right... curry is Jade's favorite food, isn't it? After a few more seconds of anxious silence on Anise's part, he finally swallowed and looked down at her.

"Well, I must admit, you certainly have talent in this field," he commented casually. When Anise squealed at the rare compliment from the Malkuth Colonel, he gave me and Tear a frighteningly serious frown: his eyes narrowed.

"So talented, in fact, why... not even Tear and Samantha, whom you see as potential rivals for Luke's affections, had noticed that you poisoned their dishes."

...Oh my God, _WHAT?_

I halted chewing immediately, pulling my spoon out of my mouth and dropping it with a clatter onto my plate. When I slapped a hand over my mouth, I noticed Tear had brought up her bag from the floor and was digging through it out of the corner of my eye.

"_WHAT?" _Luke and Guy both screamed at the same time, while Ion's eyes were wide.

_"Poison Bottles! Who has them?"_ Tear asked frantically as she pulled out gel base after gel base from her bag: moving in a frenzy.

_"MIEUUUU! THEY'RE GONNA DIE!"_ Mieu cried hysterically, tears already streaming down his furry face. "_Mieuuuuu! _Why, Anise?"

_SLAM!_

That was the sound of Anise slamming her fists down on top of the table, pushing her chair back so hard it fell over as she stood up. Her face was flushed with anger.

"_What? NO! _I didn't! There's no poison in their food!" She yelled in protest. "He's lying! I swear to Yulia that I didn't put in any!"

"Indeed," Jade confirmed, calmly taking a sip from his glass of water before putting it back on the table. "The only toxin here is Anise's 'affections' towards the other females of our party."

"I have no problem with either Tear _or_ Samantha!" Anise growled, jumping back into her seat and angrily blowing some of her bangs out of her face. "Geez, Colonel… if you're going to make a joke, at least try not to do it with a straight face…"

I hit my chest with a fist a few times, before finally managing to swallow the thankfully not poisoned curry. When I thought that it was poisoned, naturally, I didn't want to swallow it. But at the same time, I didn't want to just spit the entire thing out either because that is... yeah, gross. Especially NOT in front of the guys.

After taking in some air, I looked over to Jade with watery eyes. "Gah... damn it Jade... don't _joke_ like that! Y_ou almost made me choke to death!"_

"I agree completely," Tear said, sounding not at all amused. "There _is_ a line for those kind of things."

"Told ya he's a demon!" Luke exclaimed, one finger pointed accusingly at Jade.

"He's right." After a shrug, Jade then turned his head over to Guy. "Guy... you shouldn't be making such morbid jokes like that."

The blond man jerked back a bit, staring at Jade incredulously with wide green eyes. "_Me?_ What did I do?"

"Oh hush now." The brunet male wagged a finger at him in the same way a parent would to a naughty child. "Refusing to admit your mistakes is not an admirable trait to have, I assure you."

With a look of nervousness on his face, Ion motioned with hands for everybody to calm down. "Now, now, everyone... could we not just continue eating?"

Jade motioned to the green-haired boy with a flat hand, his smile unwavering. "You see, Guy? You have already irked the Fon Master with your silly antics."

"E-Eh?" Ion stared at Jade for while, shocked. "But... I'm not..."

Jade had already continued on without even waiting for him to finish. "You could never tell what Ion's thinking under that peaceful face. So make sure you behave now, Guy~"

In response, Guy buried his face into his arms. "You're hard to understand sometimes. I give up..."

_"What?" _Luke asked incredulously, gaping at his servant. "You're just going to let him get away with that? Come on, Guy, shoot a retort back at him! Make it so that he won't be able to talk back!"

"Ohh..." Anise leaned forward and placed her head into her hands. "The Colonel's in the best mood than I've ever seen him..."

"It's the curry," I stated resolutely, resting an elbow on the table and leaning my cheek against it. I wanted to point out that Jade's probably feeling pretty good since he just had his favorite food, and one that is delicious as well, but then remembered that he had never mentioned about his love for curry to any of us yet.

I rose my eyebrows at the still-smiling-oh-so-casually Jade. "I think... Anise, you had added a bit_ too much _love into your food."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Tear burying her face into both of her hands with a heavy sigh. Poor girl... we're going to drive her insane, aren't we? ...Well... more like Jade and Luke, but just one of them is probably enough to make someone want to pull their hair out. I _really_ can't wait until Luke cuts his hair already, because that will mean the only one who can seriously annoy us would just be Jade. That is... if I'm still around by then.

Later on, when everyone had finished eating, we all moved into the main room of the inn: just to hang out and kill time before bed, really. Tear and Anise remained at the inn's kitchen to wash the dishes together. Though it's really just a guess more than anything, I think Anise would try to pry for information about Luke from her. Again, it's just a guess from me if I had to say what they could possibly be talking about, so I could be wrong. Jade had just left the room to go… somewhere.

Me? I was just laughing around in an armchair, a glass of warm milk in one hand. Before I had left the kitchen area, I found a carton of milk in one of the cupboards, so I poured some in a pan and heated it up over the stove they have. I'll definitely need it to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow.

As I took a careful sip of the hot milk, I saw Luke tapped Guy on the shoulder.

"Hey, Guy… show me how that… C-something is done," the red-head said. His eyebrows raised, a confused Guy stared at his charge.

"C-something…?" He then seemed to realize what it is. I sat up a little straighter, curious. "Oh. You mean CPR? I thought you hated that idea when you heard about it."

"Why the sudden change in thought?" Ion questioned from his chair next to a table, sounding curious.

"I say it's still gross," Luke declared lightly, "but I wanna know how it's done. Though, you can leave the… you know… the worse parts out."

Guy still looked a bit skeptical at the idea however. Probably since he knew Luke the best, Guy probably thought that Luke would be extremely uncomfortable despite what he says. Maybe, I'm not sure since it's just a guess on my part.

"Luke, are you sure?" the blond asked, a hand raised up.

"Yeah," his red-haired friend confirmed, nodding once. "I just wanna see what you usually do when you rescue someone from drowning."

Ah, I guess Luke wanted to see Guy do the closest thing to action when he's working as a lifeguard. Luke wasn't allowed to leave his manor, so he would probably never see it.

…Thinking about it, it's kind of sad. Does that mean Luke has never experienced the wonders of going outside and spending quality time with his mother shopping? Obviously he has never been to a beach either, since he doesn't even know what an _ocean_ looked like until he got blown away with Tear to Tataroo Valley. Not only that, but minus Natalia, he probably never even _had_ any friends his age to play tag or anything with growing up.

So… Guy's really all he got when it comes to things like fun and friendship, huh? Sure there's Natalia too, and I know she cares for him… but Luke has made it clear that he found her to be more annoying than anything. When you think more into it like that, it's really obvious why Luke's so attached to the blond servant. Most people would have gone insane from having to live a life like that.

_Oh, wait…_

It's also because of that… that Suzanne had spoiled Luke a biiit too much. As cold as it is for me to point it out, she's also technically the reason why Luke's so horribly spoiled. But since she's likely aware of the normal life that they're stealing from Luke by locking him away, I guess she felt even _more_ obligated to make Luke happy and smother him more than usual in exchange.

Thinking about it this way, it would make sense. Though I don't really have the heart to hate her for her mistake… she's just a worrying, devoting mother who loves her son more than anything.

…Even if the end result of her innocent mistake is a loud-mouthed, rude, obnoxious, self-centered brat of a kid. But hey, Luke will change later on anyway, so… it's not really all that bad. We just need to be patient until then.

"What are you thinking about?" Ion's question tore me away from my thoughts, and it was then that I realized that I was smiling to myself in a mix of amusement and mild exasperation.

I attempted to tuck the smile away, shaking my head in response to Ion's question. "Just some stuff, don't worry about it."

He tilted his head to the side slightly as I took another sip from my glass. "You never tell us about what you're thinking at times, do you?" he asked. His tone wasn't accusing, just… a tad bit concerned as he pointed that out.

"There's no need to," I told him, twirling the glass about and watching the milk inside slosh about. "It's nothing personal, just…" I shrugged, "you know, nothing to talk about." I looked over to him with my eyebrows raised. "But I think we're on the same boat here, are we?"

He blinked once. "When you say that, do you mean…?"

I nodded to his unfinished question. "Come on, Ion. I think that if someone's the most troubled over everything that's happened, it would be you. The Oracle Knights, the mess they made, Mohs, and your position as Fon Master… you have a lot of stuff to worry about."

"But even so…" Ion started, letting out a sigh. "Even if there is something bothering you or the others, you all would speak up about, right?"

"I can't speak for the others, obviously," I said lightly as a small joke, "but as for myself?" I paused in thought for a moment. "Don't worry about me so much, 'kay? Just trying to wrap my mind around everything, still. Everything's just been… kind of surreal, you know?"

And I meant that. Just not in the way that Ion may think.

"But anyway," I continued, "same for you too, Ion. If things get too much, just speak up."

"Anise always tell me that," Ion remarked with a small laugh. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Oh, and you might want to drink that before it gets cold."

I looked down at my glass of hot milk and nodded, taking a sip. After pulling the glass away, I licked my lips once. Meanwhile, Guy was in the process of showing Luke about how to check for a pulse, with the latter laying down on the floor with the older male seated kneeling next to his side.

"You sure you don't want a glass of your own?" I asked Ion casually, gesturing to my drink. "It'll help you sleep better. That's why I'm having this. It's going to be another long day tomorrow, I believe."

"I suppose that's a good idea," Ion agreed after he thought about it for just a moment. With a nod, he got up from his seat and left the room. "I'll be right back."

I gave him a nod as he left, taking a large sip out of my glass as I watched Guy now showing Luke on how to pump water out of a person's body. When I saw something blue appear at the doorway, I looked up to see Jade… with his glasses back on his face? _Wait, what?_

When he noticed me staring at him, the Malkuth colonel gave me a casual smile. "As you can clearly see, I finally found my glasses. I really did misplace them. Silly me."

I frowned, looking back down at my glass as the uncomfortable feeling from earlier returned. Yep… something really _is_ fishy about him…

But really, did he think that I wouldn't notice it? What did he take me for, an idiot? Or perhaps…

…_Me calling him out on his 'trick' is what he wanted me to do…?_

Because had I been a normal Auldrian, I wouldn't have a reason to find it weird. I mean, asking someone to read something for them because they 'can't see well without their glasses' is really not a big deal back at home, either. And I'm panicking and worrying about Jade's 'innocent' request is because I didn't want him to find out that I can't read the Fonic language, much less write it. That would be one of the key things that would point out that I'm not from Auldrant.

Sure, I could always use another lie, like me having a case of dyslexia, for one. However though, there's also the case of sticking with my fake background story to also consider. I mean, who has ever heard of a traveler who can't read and write? They need to examine maps, count money, read signs as well as many other stuff, and then some. My story would be less believable than it already is.

So, in other words… I need to pretend that there is nothing wrong at all, even if I suspect Jade to suspect _me_ of hiding something.

"Guy, I hate to doubt your certified abilities, but you're doing that wrong," Jade suddenly stated to the blond man.

I looked up the same time as Guy did, who had an incredulous eyebrow raised. "What? Am I? But I'm quite sure this is the right way to do it, and it's what always did back when I still had classes."

Luke, who had his eyes closed and pretending to be unconscious, challenged, "Well, if you think you're so good at everything, then why don't you show us how to do it?"

…Why did I suddenly get that feeling that he's going to regret saying that? Oh, wait… he's speaking to _Jade_. Anyone who talks back to him almost always ended up eating their words somehow.

Jade nodded once, though Luke obviously can't see it. "Gladly. Guy, if you would step aside."

Guy had a skeptic look on his face (and with good reason too) as he looked from Luke to Jade and back. "Uh, Luke…? I have a feeling that this won't be a good idea."

"No, go ahead and let him do it," the red-head ordered, still pretending to be unconscious. "He'll probably make a mistake and you'll call him out on it, right?"

Now that Luke had given his orders, his servant friend could do nothing but sigh with resignation as he stood up and stepped away from his charge.

"But remember, no kissy stuff!" Luke quickly warned when he felt someone else, namely Jade, take Guy's place on the floor next to him.

"No kissing," the brunet bespectacled man promised lightly.

…Oh-kaay, maybe not. Heh, and for a moment there, I thought Jade would…

Exhaling once slightly, I turned to look out the window to see the black inky sky outside: filled with stars and the moon, Luna, being at the center of it all.

With my free arm, I pinched the skin of my other arm as hard as I could, even giving it a twist as I did so. After I felt the pain on my skin, I let up with a quiet sigh.

I did that for the past few nights now, just to make sure. …Okay, I had already established that everything I have experienced up till this point is real, but… I dunno… I guess there's _still_ a small part of me that still believed that everything is still all a realistic dream that I will soon wake up from and find myself back on Earth in the bed of my bedroom. Like I told Ion earlier… everything still looked so surreal to me still. I mean, it's not uncommon to have a dream that felt so completely real, after all.

But this… this _is_ definitely real. I just need to stop trying any and all parts of myself otherwise, no matter how small they may be.

_"JADE!"_

I jumped in my seat with a startled yelp, quickly looking over just in time to see Luke roughly push Jade away and ran over to where I was.

"What?" I asked as he coughed and hacked on his knees in front of me, thoroughly confused. "Wha-oh, hey, _Luke, that's my milk! Luke, my milk! My milk~!"_

Without warning and with swift speed, Luke had snatched my glass of hot milk and downed the remaining contents. Before I could whine about my stolen milk once more, I raised my eyebrows when Luke sped over to the nearest window, opened it, and leaned his head out. I then heard the sound of him gargling loudly before he spat the milk he just drank out, wiping his lips with his arm so hard, I thought he's going to give it a bruise.

I looked over to where Jade and Guy were: the blond man was gaping at the Malkuth colonel with disbelief, while the man himself was smirking with obvious amusement.

I put two and two together and the image of what could have just happened clicked in my mind. My eyes widened as I gaped at Jade.

"Oh my G-don't tell me you just…" I started to say, but a _beyond_ furious Luke beat me to it.

"_YOU DIRTY OLD GEEZER! I __**SAID**__ NO GROSS KISSY STUFF!"_ he practically roared.

I made a sound, a hand placed over my mouth in order to hide my grin. I should find this gross, I should. However, despite what I think, I couldn't help but let loose the chuckles I felt from my throat: earning a dark look from Luke in the process.

Jade didn't even bother to make things better, either. "And I did. I did not kiss you, I was showing you how to force air back into a person's lungs." He then shrugged amicably. "You should know that although I dislike teaching, when I do so, I don't do things in halves."

I don't know why I found this to be more humorous than disgusting. I really don't, and I know I shouldn't. I would make Luke mad, and an angry Luke being mad at me is not really a fun experience.

But yet, for some reason, after Jade had said that, and seeing the _look_ on both of Guy's and Luke's faces… I lost it. I laughed and laughed and laughed. I laughed so hard, I had to lean over and clutch my stomach with a hand, unaware of the fact that Luke is yelling a mountain at Jade now.

It was then at that moment did Ion return: a glass of hot milk in his hand, and a bewildered and understandably lost expression on his face when he took in everyone's expressions in the room.

"_What happened?"_ he asked loudly to be heard over Luke's yelling.

In response, I shook my head and looked up to stare at Ion with watery eyes: still laughing.

"_Th-This… This is not... is not, ahaha, something you could tell to kids!" _I forced out in between laughter. I pressed my hand harder to my stomach when I felt a painful twitch from it. "_Hahaha, oh my God… I think I pulled something~!_" I noticed that my voice had reached a high octave when I cried that last part out,

"Sam, come on, cut it out," Guy suggested when he noticed that I wasn't probably helping. "It's more disturbing, if anything."

"Disturbing?" Jade questioned in an innocent like way, as if he just couldn't find out what the problem was. "Honestly, it's only a life-saving method. I don't see what's so bad about it."

"…Eh…?" Poor Ion looked even more confused than he already was.

_"Don't you have any shame or sense of embarrassment at all, Jade?"_ I howled, referring to how he teases others. "_You have NO shame at all! No, shame!"_

_"UGH! That's IT! If all you're gonna do is tease and laugh at me, then I'm going to my room! Hope you all DON'T have a good night!"_ Luke yelled angrily as he stormed out of the room, but not before shoving my empty milk glass back into my arms. We all could easily hear his stomping footsteps as he proceeded up the wooden stairways to the room the guy's would be staying it for the night.

"Ah, Luke, wait…" I called out after him, instantly sobering up as I managed to get my laughter under control.

Okay… now I felt like a jerk for laughing at him.

"…Okay, even I have to say that how you teased him is going a bit too far there, Jade," Guy said to the Necromancer, looking a bit irked himself.

I rubbed my cheeks in an attempt to stop the stinging sensation there, frowning as guilt settled in to replace my previous amusement and I sighed.

"…Yeah, okay. Now I feel bad…" I admitted slowly, meaning it. "If it were me, I'd be pissed too. Ahh… I'm gonna go apologize."

"Just make sure to leave as soon as you're done," Guy advised, his voice neutral. I nearly wince: he always sounded friendly, so hearing him sound like that towards me is… "Luke tends to not listen much when he's angry."

"…Yeah…" I murmured, rubbing the back of my head. After I placed my empty glass on a nearby table and grabbed my bag from its place next to where I was seated, I got up and made my way towards the stairs: planning to head to the room the guy's were sharing before turning in for the night myself. I had enough fun for the day.

Okay… maybe me laughing at Luke after him getting pranked in that certain way is really a lot meaner than I thought. Even Guy thought so, it seemed. That, or he's just worried when Luke gets genuinely pissed like this. Yeah sure, Luke gets easily irritated, but his anger can easily be blown over if it's a minor thing (like not having something he would want to eat, or not getting the last strike on a monster he's targeting). If it's a major thing however? He would hold a grudge for _hours_. Days, if how he felt towards Jade now proves anything.

I can't have Luke hate me now. Jade might not have any problems with it, but I sure do. In fact, I can't afford any of the party members be angry at me, no matter who they may be.

Besides... even though Luke can act like a jerk most of the time, or say some nasty stuff... there's really no malicious intent behind his words. He's just... totally oblivious at how his words can affect someone, or how painful they can really be. Just like a kid. I know that. But when his words get a step out of line, it's easy for anyone to forget and get annoyed: even me. Like that one instant where he made a jab about me drowning back at Fubras River. It stung, so I couldn't help it.

But I digress... overall, he's not mean because he's one. He just acts mean because he's so completely used to getting his way, being treated with respect, and has ridiculously high expectations. So even if he is practically just asking for them, he doesn't deserve to get picked on in return.

"...Dear God..." I muttered to myself once I reached the second floor and started to make my way towards the guy's room. "I'm too nice and sensitive for my own good, really. Ugh..."

It's all going to bite me in the ass somehow later, I know it. But dammit... I just really can't help myself.

Reaching the door of the room I know the guys would all be staying in, I raised a fist up and rapped my knuckles on the wooden surface.

_"If it's Guy, come in! If it's anyone else, go away!"_ I heard Luke's agitated voice come from inside, muffled by the door.

I sighed, feeling even more bad than before now. Yeah, he's really angrier than usual...

After I tried the doorknob, I realized that the door was not locked, so I swung opened it wider. Leaving the door open, I walked into the room: taking a deep breath and steeling myself for what I have to do next.

Luke was lying on one of the beds closest to the window with his back to the door. When I got a little closer, I noticed that he was propped up on one elbow with his hand cupping his chin, and his other hand moving in front of him as if he was writing something. I was proven correct when I heard the sound of a pencil being scratched upon paper. Ah, he's writing in his diary again.

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if now's a good time to just turn around and walk back out the no... I need to apologize... even if Luke's gonna yell my ears off in the process. I mean, what else could I expect after laughing at him for something like... what just happened down there?

"Uh... hey," I greeted weakly, my hand raised up in a weak wave, though he obviously won't see it.

...Actually, scratch that. As soon as he heard my voice, I heard him quickly slam what sounded like a book shut before he sat up, turning to face and pinning an irritated look at me with his emerald-green eyes.

"Oh, great, what? You here to laugh at me some more?" he spat sarcastically. "Get out."

Oh... rejected upon, like, five seconds into the conversation. That's got to be a new record for me.

"No," I said quickly with a sigh. "Look, Luke, I know you probably don't want to hear this-"

"Then why bother at all?" he cut me off rudely. "You're wasting your time, now get out."

"But I want to apologize, okay?" I continued firmly, a fist clenched. He doesn't plan to make this easy, does he? "Because I really _do _feel bad about it."

"Hmph, oh, that's a laugh," Luke shot back at me as he got up from his bed. "Because you really look guilty when you were laughing your head off down there were you?"

"You're being really..." I hissed, but then stopped myself before I did or say anything more that I'd regret. "Luke... _I'm sorry_. I just couldn't control myself when I saw everyone's reactions, and believe me, I'm feeling bad about it now, so-"

"Didn't I tell you to get out?" he demanded, cutting me off again as he approached me. "I don't want to hear anything from you!"

"Luke, come on-_hey_! L-Luke, get off-_okay, okay, I get it_! I'm_ going_-Luke!"

One of his hands had grabbed hold of my arm while the other took my shoulder in a vice grip. And after he had forcefully turned me around, he had begun to push me roughly across the room and back towards the door. I'm not sure if he's being rough on purpose or if he just wasn't aware of his own strength, but it only took a very few seconds until I found myself being more or less _pushed_ out of his room. Even as I stumbled to the floor, I had a feeling that he probably left a bruise or two in his wake, because where he grabbed really _hurt_.

"And_ stay out!" _I heard him yell angrily before he slammed the door shut, which was quickly accompanied by the sound of a _click_, which signified that he had locked the door this time.

I stared at the closed door with a frown, rubbing the spot on my arm that he had grabbed. "You don't have to get hard on me..."

There was no response... not that I had been expecting any. With a sigh, I turned and walked down the hallways to the room that us girls will be sharing together, which is closer to the stairs.

_Yep... those are going to leave some marks, _I thought dryly as I now started to rub my shoulder, feeling worse than ever.

As soon as I reached the door to the room that Tear, Anise and I would be staying in, Guy had just arrived at the second floor from the stairs.

"Oh, hey," he greeted upon seeing me, frowning with worry as he walked over, yet kept a decent distance away. Why is he-oh. Phobia, right. "I heard yelling. Did everything... go well?" From the tone of his voice, it sounded like he knew better, yet decided to make his question more polite anyway for the benefit of the doubt.

I sighed, almost nearly shaking my head but managed to stop myself in time. "I... said sorry, but... well, he's still angry. He wouldn't want to see me until tomorrow, I'm sure," I informed him quietly, subconsciously rubbing my arm.

He nodded in understanding, looking over in the direction of his room. "Since you apologized, he'll probably feel a little better tomorrow. He's just angry _now_, so just give him some time to-" When he turned back to look at me, his eyebrows suddenly flew up, "-wait, did he get _physical _with you?"

"Nah," I lied quickly, not wanting to risk getting Luke in trouble when he's already in a bad mood. "He only hurt my pride, I think. When he rejected me and told me to get out of his room." Well, that's actually true, technically...

He just sighed heavily in response, giving me the idea that he doesn't really believe me.

"I think he just needs time to cool off," I said, just to get him off the subject. "I already have a feeling that he's ranting about me in his diary as we speak, so... he's already working on burning his anger off. It's fine, really." I turned back to my door. "Anyway, I'm going to bed. I'm done for the day."

"...Sure, alright. Oh, just one more thing."

I turned back to face him, looking up tiredly. My exhaustion is already catching up to me. "Yeah, shoot."

"It's a completely different subject, but..." Guy rubbed the back of his neck slowly, "how come I've never seen you use artes?"

I stiffened at that, closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath before I let it slowly back out again. I should have expected this kind of question to be coming...

"I don't want to," I lied. "I just... don't. Besides... artes aren't everything, right? I prefer to improve naturally."

Guy raised his eyebrows at me, and I felt my insides sink a little at his look.

"...You don't know any, do you?" he asked quietly in a tone that suggested that he already knew.

My shoulders sunk in defeat, and I looked away: not wanting to meet his eyes. "I..." I hesitated, trying to fumble for another lie. I found it soon enough. "I... don't like to fight, remember. Before everything happened, I just ran from everything. I never really... learned... any..." I mumbled, still not wanting to meet his eyes and letting him know that I'm lying.

"Hey, there's no need to be embarrassed if that's the case," Guy assured me as I looked back over to him with mild surprise. "I just noticed that there were moments where you could have used at least one, but you never did, so I was just wondering. If you've never fought and practiced before, then that's understandable."

"Ah, yeah," I agreed with a forced smile. This is a good opportunity, so I might as well take it. "I just... it's embarrassing, you know? Everyone else could use them... But me?" I shrugged. "You know. You do now."

"Everyone knew that you're not a fighter before all of this, so it's not like any of us would poke fun at you about it." Guy paused a moment to mull over what he just said, before he amended himself by adding, "Well... maybe Luke would. And probably Jade too, but... not the rest of us. No need to lie. For the time-being, we're all in this together, right?"

_...Great. You just have to go and say things like that, don't you, Guy? Make me feel more worse than I already was._

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed with a nod. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said immediately with a wave of the hand.

"If I could quickly learn artes-" I snapped my fingers for emphasis, "-I could. But... ah, I dunno..." I sighed. "Just need to find some way to learn. But I don't..." I trailed off.

Before Guy could respond, another voice joined in the conversation. "Hm? Why do you two have those kind of faces on?" Jade's voice asked casually as he walked up to us. "Having a serious discussion, are we?"

I mentally kicked myself as Guy gave the new arrival an odd look. "How come we didn't hear you come up the stairs?"

"I-I'm too tired for anything else now," I quickly said, turning back to the door of the inn room and opening the door. Since this inn only kept one key for each room due to lack of visitors staying the night, we all decided to leave the doors unlocked, but still have our stuff with us just in case. "Good night you two."

"Night, Sam," Guy said.

"Good night~."

I paused, turning around to give Jade a tired look. "...You know... coming from you, that actually sounded scary."

"I'll say," Guy agreed, to my amusement.

Jade let out a dramatic sigh as he started to walk down to the direction of the guy's room. "Even though I wished you from the bottom of my heart."

"Of course," I called out to him with a slight smirk as I slipped into the room just as Guy followed after him. Just as I about to close the door, I heard Guy quickly ask, "_Wait, you're not actually going to try to annoy Luke more than you already did, are you?"_

I shut the door at that, not wanting to risk hearing Luke's angry yells if that were to be the case. That Jade tends to add fuel to the fire rather than putting them out...

Which reminds me... Had he been eavesdropping on my conversation with Guy just now? How much had he heard? Out of all people to hear that, it just HAD to be Jade: the riskiest one of the group. He probably would have heard about it later, but still... at least the others wouldn't suspect everything that came out of my mouth.

I let out a long, heavy sigh. I just wanted to sleep...

I stiffened in alarm when an unfamiliar voice came from somewhere behind me.

"At last... I finally found a chance to get you alone, even at least for while. With that said, I would appreciate it that you choose not to scream."

* * *

**Whew... end of chapter! And I ended it at a cliffhanger, too. XD I believed that's the best place to end this chapter at, so... review on your way out if you want to see next chapter? :3**

**And for those of you who might have the worry... no... there will be NO yaoi or yuri in this fic. Jade's just screwing around with Luke up there, because he's a shameless bastard who has a sick sense of humor like that. XD**


	14. Kaitzur pt 2

**Sorry… life got in the way. ^^; That's all I have to say.**

**That, and I changed some things in chapter 12. Nothing much, just stuff regarding the current dates, ages of certain characters (because what their listed age is wrong, if you calculate) and the stuff surrounding the conversation about Natalia's birthday.**

**For those who are curious, or just don't want to read that chapter… the date that this chapter, as well as the last chapter, is taking place in Auldrant is on the 36th of Rem-Decan. Whereas the last part of the chapter took place on the 37th, AKA Natalia's 19th birthday.**

**Now… Let's. Go!**

* * *

**On the road again**

Alien. That's the first word that popped into my head after I saw the appearance of my mystery guest. It was a silly word to use, but hey, you can't blame what a person thought at first in regards to other people's appearance. _Especially_ if they're like _no one_ you have _ever _seen before; not including anime.

My second immediate thought after seeing my mystery guest was 'little girl'. No, really, she has the height stature of one: I can tell that she barely reached my hips even from where she stood against the far side of the room, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Despite that however, it did not take away the alien-like feel about her. Yes… even as I stood with my back pressed against bedroom door, I could tell that something about that girl is just… not… _normal_.

Pale lavender hair fell about her shoulders and past her hips, obscuring one half of her fair youthful face, thus revealing only one of her prominent bronze colored eyes to me. She wore a short regal dress of pure white silk with black intricate designs on the front. Frills lined along the end of her sleeves and skirt, and along with that, she wore pale sky-blue stockings and white doll shoes.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I could only stare at the uninvited stranger of our room, my hand subconsciously reaching over to grab hold of the doorknob behind me. If she did anything like attack me, I'll just swing the door open and run out of the room. Hopefully the noise will grab the other's attention and they could chase her away: whoever _she_ is.

The… _girl_ didn't move from her spot against the wall. She just continued to lean against it with her arms folded in a way that both of her elbows are resting on either palms of her hands: an unreadable expression on her face. Her posture was relaxed, and she didn't look like she's about to spring into action at any given moment. But still… better be safe than sorry. As I thought that, I tightened my grip on the doorknob.

Her lips, coated with pale blue lipstick, pursed together a bit tightly: probably trying to show some of her disapproval without _really_ showing it too much.

"Peace, girl," she said calmly, her voice as light as tiny bells but laced with a mature undertone. She's either just a really mature kid, or is actually just a very, very short adult. I don't know which, but considering that she called me 'girl', despite me being _much_ taller and older-looking compared to her… it's probably the latter.

"I'm not here to fight," she continued. "Nor am I interested in your death. Quite the opposite, actually. Are you willing to listen, or do you still believe you can carry on the rest of the journey without the aid of someone who's fully aware of your predicament?"

I finally found my voice. "Huh…? What… what are you talking about?" I asked, my mouth automatically starting my bluff. "What do you mean? There's nothing wrong. Why?"

I couldn't tell whether or not she bought my little bluff, considering the fact that her facial expression remained neutral. I soon found my answer because she then replied with, "Come now… did you _really _think that a normal stranger would just come into your room and said the same things I did? Don't be such a fear-filled child."

She inclined her head to the side. "For someone who promised herself that she would protect the young ones of the group, you have yet to even know how to protect _yourself_. You're still a child yourself at heart. Had I been an expressive sadist, I would have laughed at the absurdity of it."

I jerked backwards at that, startled. I could already feel my heat, which had just managed to calm down, start to beat faster again. How the hell would _she_ know what I've promised to myself? And how the heck can she stand there so relaxed and talk as if she knew me from the inside out?

I don't know if it's a reaction she wanted or not out of me, but if she did, what she just said worked. It sure got a reaction out of me.

"If you're here only to insult me, would you _please_ be kind and show yourself to the door?" I snapped, narrowing my eyes at her. "You- wait, you know what? Never mind. You wouldn't be in here otherwise," I muttered, just remembering that.

I let out a quick and loud sigh, wanting to show her that despite that I've chosen to (for whatever strange reason) let her stay for a while, I'm not happy with how she talked regarding me. If there's one thing that could quickly irk me, it's strangers openly assuming things about me: true or not. If they didn't know me all that well, what gave them the right to give me their deductions to my face?

Even without that… I don't think that this person is someone that I should quickly like. I just… _know it._

_Even if she tries something… I'm still bigger than her. I can still use that to my advantage._

"Alright… I'll put aside my own opinions on your way of thinking away for later," the lavender-haired girl said, giving a slight nod. "I'll be blunt with you, I dislike long conversations. I also have other pressing work to get back to as soon as I'm done here. So I will only tell you what you need to know right about now. Ask any questions now and I shall answer."

I stared at her, running a hand through my hair in a nervous gesture. Well… this is odd… is she even serious? Does she really know as much as she acts to be? Well, only one way to find out.

"You act like you know me so well," I said slowly, doing my best to keep my voice steady despite the nervousness I felt inside. "Prove it."

She didn't seem at all offended or annoyed at my open distrust of her. If anything, she seemed to be expecting. Her answer was prompt and unhesitant, so filled with assurance that made my heart feel as if it dropped to the pit of my stomach.

"Your name… no, actually… you dislike your real name. Because of that, you tend to go by the alias 'Samantha Loy', both on internet sites back on Earth and, obviously, you decided to use it here as well,' she answered coolly. "You live in Udon Thani Asia, you're seventeen years of age and was born on the fourth of September in the year 1992 by Earth's calendar, and you're fluent in both the Thai and English languages. On the topic of that, English literature is your favorite subject to learn at school, hence you got good grades on that particular subject, and you absolutely loathe the subject of accountancy."

She tilted her head to the other side, giving me a knowing look. "Ah, and not including the ones on the internet, you don't have any friends. I have given my proof, is that satisfactory enough for you?"

I was glad she didn't choose to comment on how I might look like right now, because I was sure I had felt almost all of my blood leaving my face in the middle of her… explanation about me.

I swallowed, and I noticed that my throat had gone dry.

"Th-That's… good enough," I said once I found my voice again.

Okay… so she really DID know me. But, the question now is…

"How do you know me?" I questioned, trying to sound assertive and failing spectacularly. "What… are you-"

"A stalker of yours?" she guessed my next words (and was right about that), then shook her head. "No."

"Then _who_?" I demanded quietly, cursing myself for not raising my voice more.

"You may call me Shio," the girl introduced herself. She pushed away from the wall, pressed a hand over her waist and moved her upper body forward in a swift and graceful bow with one of her legs held in front of the other. "My relationship to you while in this world will be similar to that of one's guardian angel, so to speak. I will guide and aid you from the shadows until the true goal is reached."

She straightened up after that. "With that said, I believe it will be in both our benefits if you accept me as your ally."

I shook my head, allowing myself to slide down the door behind me slightly. This is starting to become almost too surreal to absorb…

"A guardian angel? Really?" I asked doubtfully. "Is that really the truth?"

"Well, the real truth of my relationship to you is a lot more complicated than you might think," Shio replied, still as cool as a cucumber. She then waved a hand in a dismissive notion. "But that is something that can be held off until a much later date. Just accept the fact that I know you well… maybe even more than you do yourself."

I furrowed my brows together at that. I _really_ didn't like the idea of someone knowing more about me than I'm comfortable with…

"Seriously… who are you?" I asked again, scowling. "How-"

"-did you end up here in this world," she cut in smoothly, but with enough firmness to make me pause, "…is what your next question is, correct." I only managed a dumb nod in response before she already moved on ahead with her reply. "That would be my doing, actually."

My jaw dropped at the revelation. "_YOU?_" I repeated in a near shriek. I almost slid down the door completely and onto the floor, but grabbing a hold of the door handle prevented me from doing so.

Shio was unfazed by my open display of angry annoyance."Not so loud."

I half-heeded her request. "_You're_ the one that brought me here? _You?_" I demanded, my indignation close to maximum now. "All this-" I made a vague gesture of our surroundings, "-is _your_ fault?"

Her nod was so calm and casual, it made my ire spiked to the point where I wanted nothing more to scream and rage and scream some more at her. I clenched my fists, gritting my teeth. The _only _reason I'm not doing any of that right now, the reason why I'm forcing myself to somehow keep a lid on my composure, is only because I don't want any of the others to come running. Now that I know that Shio has all the answers I wanted, I'm not about to let someone chase her away soon before I'm satisfied.

I mentally swore in my mind, then took a deep breath and counted to ten. It's kind of odd… when's the last time I got _this _angry? Oh, I've always felt extreme annoyance at best most of the time, but rarely anger to the point that I want to scream at someone at the top of my lungs.

"Okay… _fine_," I gritted out, forcing my voice to be at an even level. "_Fine._ I'll accept that explanation. Now, can you tell me _WHY_ you brought me here?"

She tilted her head slightly to the side at that. Her eyebrow was slightly raised in a patronizing way. "Oh? I believe that, deep down, you yourself would know the answer to that."

What? _Now_ she chose the time to be vague?

"Why would I?" I asked, my ears catching the edge to my own voice. "What do you mean?"

But she continued on as if she never heard my question, moving away from the wall and over to the direction of the room's only dresser. "You apparently had quickly adapted to this world soon upon your arrival," she noted, her arms folded loosely together once again. "Quite a feat. When they realized where they were, most of the others that I used to be acquainted with would have denied the reality of situation, if not panic."

"I _did _panic at first," I corrected her grumpily, narrowing my eyes at her. "Just ask the poor kid who had the bad luck of having me scream right in his face. Don't change the subject!"

"You managed to regain your composure in the few seconds after that enough to give a false back-story to the Fon Master however," Shio reminded me, waving a finger.

"Don't… change… the subject…!" I repeated slowly with emphasis on each word. I felt myself clenching my fists again. "Why _would _I know the reason of why I'm here?"

Ship dropped her raised arm at that, giving me a half-lidded look the eye not hidden behind the curtain of pale-lavender hair. Though her expression is stony, as it is throughout our entire conversation, I somehow managed to grasp the subtle emotion hidden in her eye.

It was one of pity.

She then shook her head, her hair swishing side to side from the notion as she did so."No," she said softly. "If you couldn't figure it out yet, then it is not my place to tell you."

I noticed the sudden set of her shoulders as she looked past me and towards the door I was leaning against with a frown, her folded arms dropping to the side. "Looks like our meeting has to end here for the time being. The puppeteer is coming up the stairs."

"Anise?" I asked. After straining my ears to listen, and though they are muffled from the door, I could indeed hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Five quick pieces of advice before I go. Listen well, don't ask questions regarding them, and follow my instructions well if you want to know the best for you," Shio told me. She held up one finger. "The first, of course, is to not tell anyone of our meeting and of myself. It will only raise unneeded complications."

She held up the second finger. "The second: though it is cute and noble, stop worrying about protecting the young ones of the group. You are definitely _not _at that level of skill sufficient enough that could allow you to try and protect others when you could not even look after yourself. Don't give me that offended look, you know it is the truth. Until you are much, much stronger, look after you and yourself alone. The third: do not let anyone offer to teach you fonic artes, or train you in any way for that matter. I have other plans that could help you regarding that."

She let out a quiet sigh, lifting up the third finger. "Following the second advice, and I know you will do so eventually, you _must _go to Choral Castle. When you reach there, separate yourself from the others for the time-being. I promise you it will be worth your while in the long run in many ways. I said don't ask questions," she quickly stated when she saw me about to open my mouth to ask why.

"Fourth and final advice, but certainly not the least important one…" Shio made eye-contact with me, giving me a stern look.

Her voice was frighteningly low when she continued. "Do not, I repeat, do _not_, under any circumstances, let yourself be killed by Nocturne of the Oracle Knights. I am deadly serious about this warning, Samantha Loy. Should you by chance encounter him alone, turn and flee_ immediately_. Do not even _think _about trying to fight him at your current level. The damage as the result of that would be much worse than being killed by a monster or a normal human being."

At her words, I felt a cold shudder ripple down my spine. I could also feel my heart clench in fear.

_Nocturne? _That new guy with the God Generals? Why? What's so special about him aside from the obvious fact that he wasn't in the game?

I could hear Anise's voice now, almost clear enough for me to make out her words, indicating that she's now in the hallways outside my room. I turned my head to the side to press my ear to the surface of the door. Hearing her mention Ion's name answered my silent question of who she could possibly be talking to.

I started to whisper, "You have to get out of-" when I turned my head back towards the room and froze in mid-sentence: my heart skipping a beat and my breath hitching in my throat.

The bedroom was completely empty. As if no one except myself had been present for the past few minutes. I shook my head and, suddenly feeling drained of all my energy, slid down the door and landing on the floor on my rear. For the moment, I questioned if the last few minutes even happened, or if I had just been imagining it.

But no… no way all of that had just been a hallucination. There's just no way that I could be going insane this early on in the journey.

I took in a deep breath to calm myself down and regain my composure- just as I heard the door behind me click open before it hit my back.

"Oh!" I heard Anise exclaim in surprise. "What the-?"

"Sorry. Hold on a sec," I called out, standing up and moving away from the door to allow Anise entry. Due to the fact that Ion's not with her, I assumed that he had already retired to the guys' room for the night.

Anise gave me a cute nonplussed look as she shut the door behind her. "Why were you on the floor in front of the door? It's-" here she abruptly cut herself off, suddenly frowning as she stared at me. "Sammy, are you all right? You're all pale!"

"Huh?" I asked breathlessly which, to my ears, made me sound almost dumb. I blinked, surprised at Anise's observation: did I really look _that_ bad?

"Hahh… nothing, nothing." I waved it off, forcing laughter to come out of my lips and inwardly slapped myself: even that sounded too nervous for my tastes.

"Ah, this…" I shook my head, quickly trying to pull out another lie. "Just… dizzy. Yeah… that sounded about right." I forced on a smile onto my face. "Just a wave of dizziness… today must be finally catching up to me, I think."

"Then why the heck aren't you in bed yet?" Anise asked, lightly swatting me across the back before she started to guide me further into the room and over to the bed. Her brows were lightly knitted together, though there's no real annoyance within her brown eyes. "Get some rest, or else you'll collapse tomorrow! It's going to be a long day!"

I allowed myself to fall backwards onto the edge of one of beds in the room, letting out another laugh when I did so. Thankfully this laugh sounded a bit more genuine than the last one.

Talking with Anise now reminded me of a certain someone from home, namely my younger sister, who's her complete opposite. Not only would my sister _not _care much about my well being, but would also look and sound grumpy whenever she's addressing me most of the time. We don't have the bond that most blood sisters have, on the contrary, we just don't seem to get along: she very much prefers the company of her group of cool, preppy friends over mine. We had more moments shared together disagreeing with each other and fighting more than getting along and genuinely having fun and enjoying each other's company.

Come to think of it… compared to my younger sister (who's actually a year older than Anise), I think Anise is, not only nicer and more cheerful, but also more mature in her own way.

…Should I be worried that there's a blood relative whom that I _don't_ miss? Dear do I sound cold… but when someone like Anise is right here in front of me, worrying about me, talking in the way that my own blood sister never had, it's very…

I forced myself to stop that line of thinking.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry," I said, just as the sound of the door being re-opened, closed, and then locked reached our ears, accompanied by the sound of heels clicking against the floor. Tear had then entered the room and noticed the two of us.

I guess my face was still pale, because when her single visible eye connected with mine, she frowned in concern. "Did something happen?" she asked. "You look a bit sick."

"Silly Sammy here didn't go straight to bed even when she felt dizzy enough to fall to the floor!" Anise told her, sounding like a student telling on someone to a teacher.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Silly Sammy…? Two nicknames from you in less than 3 minutes."

She lightly stuck her tongue out playfully at that, giving me a quick wink and a playful smile. "Sammy just sounds cuter than either Sam or Samantha, so… Sammy!" She then placed both of her gloved hands against my chest and pushed lightly. "Now, go to bed!"

"I agree," Tear said, folding her arms. "You should have gone to sleep when you felt tired. Staying up and forcing yourself is a foolish thing to do."

"I'm being scolded by girls younger than me," I whined jokingly. "My pride's been shattered like glass and in a hundred pieces." The corners of Tear's lips curved upwards slightly at the joke, and I got another harmless swat from Anise.

"If you don't want to be scolded any more, then it's best to do as we say," Tear advised

"Yeah!" Anise agreed with a smile. Her dark pigtails bobbed as she moved her head in a nod. "Don't be embarrassed, Sammy! Since you're the oldest of us, I understand that you need the most rest!"

I gaped at her suggestive tone of voice: completely understanding the hidden message within her words. "Oh my G- Anise, are you implying that I'm_ OLD?" _I asked with horror, my voice high in pitch at the last word. "I'm seventeen! I can still keep up with you _and_ Tear!"

She tilted her head to the side in an innocent gesture, a finger tapping against her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Hm, I dunno Sammy…" she started, hints of an impish grin showing on her youthful, cherub-like face. "I think-" she paused when I had reached back and grabbed the pillow from the headboard of my bed: holding it in front of me with both hands threateningly.

"Say any more, and I'll make you suffer the wrath of the Pillow of Death," I warned her in a monotonous voice, hiding my smile.

She obviously took it as a challenge, because her impish grin had grown wider and she said, "Aw, but Sammy… since you got along so great with the Colonel, I thought you could be older! You know what they say, 'Birds of a feather flock together' after all~!"

"Thaaaaat's it." I swung my fluffy weapon out at her, striking Anise right in the side of her head and making her stumble a bit. She let out a loud squeal when I raised the pillow high above my head, before running over to Tear for protection.

"Tear, help me~!" Anise cried, laughter in her voice as she threw her arms around the startled melodist's waist.

Not letting that deter me, I pulled the arm that was holding the pillow back and sent the white cushion sailing across the room to where Anise was. Unfortunately, not only did Anise saw that coming, but she had quick reflexes too. This was proven when she grabbed Tear's arm and pulled her down before skipping out of the way: making my pillow smack Tear right in the face instead.

My jaw dropped at my blunder as Anise giggled, already standing by the side of the other bed of the room. The Seventh Fonist grabbed hold of the pillow and pulled it away from her face, and I gave her an apologetic look with my hands clasped in front of me.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Tear! You're not mad, ri-" the rest of my sentence was cut off as I let out a scream when she sent my pillow flying back at me: hitting me in the face. Grabbing hold of the fabric covering the pillow, I pulled it away from me face… just in time to have another one thrown right into my face, this time courtesy of Anise, who was seated on top of her own bed.

After pulling her pillow away from my face, I threw it back at her before standing up and making my way over to her with a smirk: still holding my own pillow in my hand. Anise let out a short scream when I slapped her in the side with my pillow.

"H-Hey, hey hey hey! It's not fair- sick people aren't supposed to be good at pillow fights!" she sputtered out in between laughter as I continued hitting her with my pillow.

"Well, what do you know?" I asked in a thoughtful manner, stopping my onslaught for the moment. "I'm actually feeling much, much better now."

"Cheater!" Anise accused me, slapping me in the stomach with her own pillow and restarting our 'fight'.

"The both of you, cut that out," Tear's motherly-like voice admonished us from somewhere behind me. "You'll ruin those pillows! We need to rest so that we'll have enough energy for tomorrow!"

I stopped my attack at her words, but Anise used that moment of opportunity to smack her pillow into my face with a short laugh.

"Aww, Tear~!" Anise whined cutely, looking behind me with a small put. "Don't be a spoilsport now: just a few more minutes! Or…" there was a glint in her eyes as she appeared to get an idea in her head, "you beat the both of us in a pillow fight, we'll then listen to you and tuck ourselves right in."

There was a contemplative silence following Anise's proposal. When I had thought that Tear had decided not to be baited, a pillow slapping me lightly at the back of my head surprised me: convincing me otherwise. I spun around to see Tear holding her own pillow between her hands and giving us a soft but playful smile.

"As you wish." Her next attack with her pillow was hard this time, forcing me to fall back onto Anise's bed. Anise followed up the attack by bringing her pillow down on me.

"Hey hey hey! Anise, whose side are you on?" I yelled indignantly, which contrasted with the stupid grin I could feel that's still on my face.

"Against yours' that's for sure~! Tear, get her!"

"H-Hey! No fair guys! I'm handicapped now! _Ahhh_!"

* * *

It was already early morning the next day when I shuffled out the door of the inn along with the others: stifling a yawn as I did so. As usual... everyone believed that the earlier we get things on the road, the better. As it is, the sun isn't even fully out yet. Almost the crack of dawn, in fact.

Because of that, my spirits were not that very high. That, and the fact I had woken up sometime in the middle of the night because of some dream I had. Don't remember what it was about, but I remember it scaring the hell out of me enough to wake me up. Meh... probably about ghosts or something... not like it's the first time that kind of thing happened.

And when I realized that crossing the border would take a lot, _lot _longer than I originally thought, I felt even less perky and less energetic than I previously was... which was not all that much at all.

"How long did it took you to find Luke after you left Baticul, anyway?" I had asked Guy wearily, almost afraid of the answer.

"A week, give or take," he had answered. He had then chuckled at my dropped jaw. "What? You're a traveler, you should know that, unless you're running during the entire trip,, it doesn't take that short of a time to find someone who's missing in enemy territory."

"I prefer to use transportation vehicles to get from place to place if I could," I had quietly thrown out as an excuse, unable to meet his gaze. "I... I dunno... guess I just wanted to hurry it up and finish all this."

"Don't think about how strenuous the journey really is," Guy advised kindly. "Though it may be hard, just have fun with it. Time will fly faster that way."

"Guy, how did you get into Malkuth territory, if I may ask?" that question was from Ion, who had just joined the conversation. "The Rotelro bridge was destroyed by the Dark Wings."

Unexpectedly, Guy actually looked surprised at that. "It was? It was still fine and well intact when I crossed it."

Tear, who had heard Guy's reply, turned to look at us. She was staring skeptically at the blond male. "Just when did you cross it, actually?"

He looked up, rubbing his chin as he tried to remember the exact date. "Let's see... Van and I took the fastest ship from Baticul to Chesedonia where we parted ways, and I went north-east towards the Rotelro Bridge as fast as I could. It took me three days to actually reach it. So then that would be... the 26th? Yeah, that's it."

Tear blinked in what seems to be amazement at his response. "That's just a day before the carriage Luke and I were on actually pass it! You're astoundingly fast."

"There's already a team searching in the area north of Chesedonia, and I heard that the team that's to search in Malkuth territory is not there yet, so I went ahead to look here," Guy explained.

"And good thing you did," I said. "If you were only a day late, not only would you totally miss him, but we would have been captives, or worse, dead by now way back then on the Tartarus. Lucky..."

"I had a strange, unexplainable nagging feeling that I should hurry up straight into the heart of Malkuth territory... but I didn't expect it would pay off that much," Guy admitted with a laugh.

"It's because you and Luke have a bond," Ion said with a smile. "Out of all people, it is not at all strange that you would have the strongest feeling as to where he is."

"That's probably it," Tear agreed with a nod.

Suddenly, to all of our shock, Anise appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, her gaze solely fixated on Guy and making him squirm uncomfortably under her piercing gaze.

"So, you probably know everything about Luke, especially what he likes and doesn't like?" the young girl questioned, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Well... I guess you can say that..." Guy confirmed hesitantly. "I like to think that if you asked me anything about him, I would know the answer."

That was a bad choice of words on his part, because Anise had then eagerly put that claim to the test as she fired off question after question regarding the red-haired noble.

...Of course I should be aware that that should be the case. The time it would take to travel between the two countries of Malkuth and Kimlasca, I mean. Rationally, it makes sense. Since it's a link between the two different countries, it would take, if Guy was right, around a week or so to reach the Kaitzur Naval Port. Probably longer, since Guy had already confessed into rushing in his journey to Malkuth in order to search for Luke.

I let out a sigh, looking over to where everyone else was. With the exception of Luke, all of us where gathered outside of the inn already, all ready to set off at a moment's notice. And that moment would be when the little noble would step out of the inn's doors and grace us all with his loud presence.

"Honestly, what is he doing?" Tear asked wearily, folding her arms.

"Probably just writing in his diary again," Guy assumed.

You could just see Anise's ears perk up at that. "What was that? What was that?" Anise asked eagerly, managing to look both interested yet a bit confused at the same time. She obviously didn't think Luke's the type to keep diaries. "Luke's keeping a diary?"

"Yes…" Tear answered a bit hesitantly. "Apparently, it's a safeguard in case he gets amnesia again."

"What's he writing in it?" Anise wondered, a thoughtful finger pressed against her chin as she tilted her head to the side.

Guy shrugged. "Who knows? Probably 'Master Van this, Master Van that. Master Van did this awesome thing, Master Van's the best'."

"He's kind of…" I hesitated. I was about to say 'obsessed', but that's probably to strong of a word… even if it might be true, "over-idolizing Van, isn't he?"

When you keep in mind what's going to happen later, that's the worst thing he could be doing yet.

"Now Samantha, don't be shy now," Jade teased. "Don't hold back… just say what you really think and say he's obsessed."

I gaped at him in disbelief: did he just read my mind or something? "H-How did you know I didn't want to use that word…?"

The man in Malkuth's uniform just shrugged. "Oh, I didn't. You just confirmed it for me."

"Jade…!" I complained. I then heaved a sigh. "…Please keep that a secret from Luke…?"

Tear shook her head at our exchanged, but I noticed that she looked worried about Luke's obvious admiration for her brother. And she should be, Van's playing him for a fool, and sees him as nothing more than a pawn in his brilliant scheme of things.

Oh, how I want to just come out and say all those things… but I can't. Not unless I want them to know about the game and about Earth. Would they even accept either of those two? I'm not sure… they're not something believable in the first place.

"If that's all he's writing about, I guess he doesn't have a girlfriend yet," Anise ruminated. She looked excited at the prospect, and she grinned widely as she pumped a small fist in front of her chest. _"Perfect!"_

Actually Anise, there's still the matter of a certain Kimlascan princess with the name of Natalia that's in your way of marrying into wealth. Ah, but neither Guy or Luke had said anything about their engagement yet, have they? …Nope, they didn't: they only mentioned that they're cousins who argue a lot.

"That, or he might be making notes on his meals," Jade remarked. Then, taking on a slightly whiny tone of voice to mimic Luke, he said, "'Rappig meat again today' and 'I sure would like some beef'," his voice went back to normal again, "and so on."

"Worst impersonation of Luke ever, Colonel Jade," I commented dryly. "Add some more anger and energy to it, why don't you?" I then blinked. "Oh, we're going to have rappig meat today after all?"

During our trip to Fubras River, most of our meals consisted of rappig meat. Apparently they're the easiest, and cheapest, kind of meat to prepare even if you don't have sufficient cooking tools.

Jade pushed his glasses up his nose with two fingers as he replied, "I would, but I'm afraid that, if I act too much like him, then I will become like him. 'Eat too much of one thing, and you're bound to turn into it', as they say."

"I don't believe in that sort of thing," Tear said, her face practically screaming 'oh my goodness, I can't believe we're having this kind of conversation'.

I motioned to where Mieu was on the ground next to Ion, who seemed more than willing to stay silent and listen to our conversation with interest. "Yeah, I don't believe it either. I mean, look… Mieu over there eats only grass and vegetables, but mainly the former. But you don't see him turning flat and green and having flowers bloom out of his nose, do you?"

I got several raised eyebrows at the images I had just undoubtedly given them all.

"_Mieu?_ Will flowers really come out of my nose if I eat too much grass?" Mieu asked in distress, covering the aforementioned body part with his two tiny paws.

"No Mieu…" Tear assured the baby cheagle with a small sigh. "No… nothing like that will happen, don't worry."

"How the heck did wander off to this kind of topic, anyway?" Guy asked with a half-amused half-nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's Jade's fault," I declared. "He believes in something unbelievable."

"Now what makes you say that?" Jade said airily in his serious humor as he raised his arms up in a shrug. "And it's true."

"Really?" Ion asked, speaking up for the first time in this conversation. "How would you know, Jade?"

"That's impossible," Guy said firmly. "No way can that actually happen."

"How can it not be?" Jade asked smoothly, raising an eyebrow up. "I'm the one who prepared them before, after all. I even have witnesses."

Anise's jaw dropped at that, and I could feel my own doing the same. "Colonel… no way…"

"Colonel, please stop with those silly tales," Tear advised him, her single visible eye slightly narrowed.

"What's this all of a sudden?" Jade asked playfully. "Is it so hard to believe that I've not only prepared rappig meat before, but will also be serving them later on today for lunch?"

Cue stunned silence from all of us.

"…Rappig meat," Anise said quietly. "…_That's_ what you were talking about just now?"

"Of course, what else would I be talking about?" Jade confirmed, smiling at all of us. "I was just answering Samantha's previous question… about whether we would be having rappig meat today or not."

"…Oh…" was all I could say.

He let out a loud dramatic sigh, holding a hand to his forehead. "Who would believe that human beings can actually turn into food. From the looks on all of your faces just now, you seemed close into believing it is the truth."

"No fair! You tricked us _again_, Colonel!"Anise shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the middle-aged man._ "_And I don't think Luke would be happy to hear that, anyway."

"You're talking about rappig meat, right?' I asked for clarification. Don't want another misunderstanding to occur.

"Uh huh!"

Ion suddenly broke our quarrel with a chuckle. "I'm sorry… I just realized that I already forgot what was the original topic of your conversation."

"Luke's diary and what he writes in it," Guy answered. "And to answer Jade's earlier remark… I don't think he would care much about food that much to the point of writing them down in it." He paused, then gave us a sheepish smile. "…Though given his upbringing, his tastes may tend more toward the luxuriant."

Anise let out an amazed gasp. "Oh wow…! I want to eat luxuriant meals too!"

Jade shook his head, his smile still in place. "If that's all you eat, you'll turn into a rappig, you know."

I threw my hands up in mock exasperation. "Annnd we're back to the topic of people turning into food again."

Resting an elbow on a folded arm, Jade wagged a finger at me. "Ah ah ah… I said rappig… not rappig _meat. _I'm referring to the animal this time. If Anise eats too much, she'll be as chubby as a farm rappig."

"Boo boooo!" she yelled at him.

He suddenly pointed a finger at her hairstyle. "Oh, nice _pig_tails there, Anise."

"Th-That's not fair!" Anise whined loudly. "_Boooo!"_

"Man, you guys are loud," a new yet familiar voice joined in the conversation. Luke had _finally_ chosen to come out of the inn, rubbing one of his ears with a hand.

"Luke! Couldn't you be more practical about the time we have?" Tear demanded of him, sounding less than pleased with his late appearance.

"Hey, I was busy with my own stuff, you know!" he defended himself as he made his way towards our group. "Can we get going now? What are you all arguing about anyway?"

He got three different responses to his question.

"Food." "Silly and false tales." "The Colonel was being mean to me~!"

The redhead blinked at the answers he was given. "Uh… okay…? If it is food, why are you all arguing about that?"

"Don't worry too much about it," Guy assured him, waving a hand. "Jade just says we're having rappig meat for lunch today."

"_Again?" _Luke exclaimed incredulously. His disbelief then turned into indignation._ "_I think I've had enough rappig meat the past few days, I could practically still taste them on my tongue even after all this time! Why can't we have some beef instead for once?"

Almost everyone's heads had turned to face Jade in shock after hearing that last statement from the young noble. The Necromancer had only shrugged as his way of response before turning around and starting to walk towards the border gates.

"You are so very predictable, Luke," he called back over his shoulder. "Now, let's not waste even more time than we already had, and be on our way now, shall we?"

"_Hold it! What do you meant by that?" _Luke shouted, already marching on ahead to catch up with the Malkuth colonel.

* * *

**Short compared to my usual chapters, but since it's been so long since my last update, I wanted to post something to let you know I'm not dead.**

**Now, excuse me while I moosey off into the sunset while pumping out like crazy to this song (which I was also listening to while writing the pillow-fight scene)!**

***"Don't Wanna Go Home" by Jason Derulo started playing***

**Me: *dances away* Don't forget to review on your way out! Oot oot!**

**Jade: *dances next to me***

**Me: O_O**

**Jade: :D As our dear author would say… "ciao, ciao"!**

**Me: *twitches* You're… really scary, you know that?**

**_Next Chapter: Oh no! It's Gloomietta… again!_**


	15. Bonus Chapter

**Because since I couldn't reach 10,000 words for the most recent chapter, as well as the fact that I updated late…. How about a short but extra chapter as compensation? XD**

**But no, really… if you read this along with chapter 14, it will make up the usual 10,000 words worth of a story chapter from me.**

**Hidden Scene from "Falling Into the Abyss". Takes place during the end of chapter 10 in the first half, and then in the middle of chapter 11 in the second half.**

**This chapter, though written for laughs, can be considered to be 'canon' in the FitA world.**

**Important: First half of the story is through first person POV, while the latter half is third person POV.**

* * *

"Thank you for your purchases! Come again!" I chirped the now familiar words cheerfully to a female customer after she paid for the vegetables she bought. I gave her a wave along with a smile, which she both returned before walking away.

I let out a content breath. THIS is one of the main reasons why I love Saint Binah so much. Not only is the town beautiful, have amazing medicines available and fresh fragrant air (due the flowers that bloomed here) all day _every _day... it's also so peaceful... and the people here are sooo _nice_too.

I got down onto my knees, putting away the money in the cashier that I always kept behind the counter. Since I work in a grocery stall, there's really not much room to put it on top of the counter, so I kept it back here instead. Especially when said stall had all kinds of fruits, vegetables and other food hung up on the sign, both sides of my stall (both inside and out), placed in front of it, and with some kept on top of the counter itself.

It's small, but hey... it's easy to run. Though a bigger stall wouldn't hurt, I guess... maybe I should get one when I have enough money. Or pay someone to build me one...

Finished putting away the money, I stood up and started humming underneath my breath. I casually observed the people going about their business casually, lightly dusting my hands off of the blue skirt of my dress.

A couple some distance away caught my eye, seemingly heading on over in my direction. When I looked, I noted that both the male and the female both looked young, and were in the middle of a conversation among each other. For a moment, I thought that they were both siblings since they both possessed long red hair, but when I took a more careful look, I noticed that the male's red hair is so much more brighter, longer and more vibrant than the girl's. The girl's hair is more of a brownish-red color, and it seemed to end just past her shoulders.

My felt my eyebrows suddenly flying up for two reasons: the first reason being that I just noticed the tiny light-blue furry creature -probably one or the other's pet- waddling along close to them...

...The second reason is because just when I had noticed the little furry thing, the girl had grabbed hold of the sleeve of the boy's black shirt and...

_Oh my... is she going for a kiss? _I thought, suppressing a squeal when I came to that thought. I just LOVE romance!

Anyway... the girl had leaned close to the boy's face, having to stand on her toes due to their slight difference in height. Even from this distance, I could tell that the look on that girl's face at that moment was, well... it's the same look a man's lover would always give him whenever she wanted something from him.

You know... that 'Pretty please with a cherry on top and I'll love you forever and ever and not cry because you're being mean to me' puppy-dog look? Yep, that's the one. No mistake about it.

Mother gave Father that look ALL the time, so I should know.

And aww... how cute! Is that boy... embarrassed? Oh... yep. Yep, he is. I could already tell that he's cracking under _that _look. Silly boy... if only you paid more attention to a woman's wants, you wouldn't have had to go through that common sweet torture by us fair maidens.

Oh look... he seemed to have already given up. How do I know? Because the girl (who looked to be in her late teens along with her 'friend') had suddenly pulled away when he said something (probably giving up), looking beyond satisfied with herself. With what looked like a playful nudge and some teasing on her part, the three of them (including their furry friend) continued to walk towards... oh! They really ARE coming this way!

I pretended like I haven't been spying on them the entire time by examining my nails and humming the same tune from earlier. When the two stopped in front of my stall, I gave them my usual friendly and started the usual business transaction.

As the couple made their purchases, I noticed that they were helping each other out. The boy was reading off everything that was written in their grocery list while the girl gathered them all.

_The boy has emerald green eyes... the girl has deep chocolate brown... and he looks grumpier and less friendlier than her..._ I lightly noted as I packed all their purchases into paper bags. _Definitely NOT siblings. Especially with what I saw earlier. They really don't even look that much alike when together and close by._

What kind of 'siblings' would try to kiss the other, anyway? And no... incest doesn't count as an answer. So... Yep! Without a doubt! They're both lovers!

A few minutes later, when everything was done and paid for, I gave the couple another smile (in which the girl casually returned) as they were about to make their leave.

"Thank you for shopping here!" I sang. "Please do shop here again another time! Oh, and if you don't mind saying... you two make quite the lovely couple."

The facial expressions that appeared on both their faces next was... not really what I had expected. The girl had gone pale in the face, while the male looked absolutely disgusted... and enraged.

"She's not my girlfriend!" the red-haired boy shouted in a voice loud enough to make me wince (and some people nearby to look out war to see what the problem was). With that declaration being made, the boy then stormed away in the direction of the inn close by, the little blue animal following after him as he did so.

_I... said something wrong?_

_Oh... whoops..._

* * *

_Hours later…_

* * *

"…_Shit…!" _

Nathan Satou looked over to his female companion when his ears caught the soft curse that spilled through her lips in a hiss, but not before plunging one of his blades into the body of a charging Rhinossus.

"What's wrong?" he called out to her, keeping his eyes trained on the small group of Chirpees flying their way.

Having just killed a Rhinossus of her own, Samantha kicked the corpse away in order to give herself more footing.

"Just realized something," she informed him, exasperatedly swatting at another Chirpee that was swooping around over her head with a dagger. "Something… pretty bad."

"Bad?" he dark-haired man repeated, already in the middle of charging up a dark fonic arte to blast the incoming flock of Chirpees away. "I doubt it. _Negative Gate!_"

The flock of Chirpees were immediately swallowed by a sphere of dark energy, making them all squawk in both anger and pain as the sphere continued to deal damage to their feathery bodies.

"…I believed I may have accidentally committed an act of pedophilism."

With his concentration effectively shattered, Nathan's Negative Gate disappeared a bit faster than he had originally intended. He spun to face Samantha so fast, he almost nearly gave himself whiplash. "_WHAT?"_

"_Incoming-!" _A lone Chirpee raked its claws through the side of Nathan's head as it flew past, and Samantha grimaced in sympathy when she saw him wince slightly. "Oooh, too late. Sorry. That little coward's really annoying."

Shaking his head to get rid of the stinging pain, Nathan turned his head up towards the Chirpee that had just struck him, before remembering its friends and turning to face them instead.

"What makes you say that? And got any long range fonic artes to hit them with?" he asked, holding his blades up and preparing himself to attack when they get close enough.

Samantha shook her head. "I don't sorry." She ducked when the Chirpee that attacked Nathan flew past her, getting up with an annoyed look on her face. "That one's really annoying... anyway, I just kinda… got really close to a guy friend of mine earlier, grabbed his arm, and had then put my face really close to his. I mean, yeah sure, I was just fooling around and trying to trick him into helping me out… but still."

She swiped at the Chirpee close to, managing to clip it in the wing enough to make it fall to the ground. A quick stomp and a stab later, the bird that was her main source of annoyance for the past few minutes is already dead.

Deciding to deal with them before they could, Nathan charged towards the flock of Chirpees. Samantha felt like she was almost watching him dance as he screamed "Dual Dark Sabers!" and struck all of the flying monsters with lightning fast slashes and not giving them a chance to land a hit on him.

By the time he was done, he walked back to her side calmly, but still alert for more monsters that will be attracted to the scent of the Dark Bottle they had poured over the area earlier.

"The guy you were with earlier? The one with long red hair?" he asked, moving his gaze to stare at the foliage around them.

The auburn-haired female teenager moved so that she is standing back-to-back with him, knowing that it is the best way to prevent any sneak attacks.

"You saw?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I know almost everybody in Saint Binah by now. Even if I don't know their names, I can still recognize them by face. You and him are just two of the few other new faces I see in Saint Binah," he explained casually.

"Huh. You must have a good memory then," she commented. "And yes… him."

Nathan snorted at that. "You consider making advances on him pedophilic? He looks old enough to me. How old is he? Sixteen?"

There was a slight pause before Samantha answered, "Seven… teen."

Unable to help himself, Nathan let out a chuckle. "And earlier, you say you're twenty, right? It's just a three year difference… it's not that bad."

"To me, it is," Samantha stated firmly, sounding disturbed to his ears. "I mean… it's just… you know… I always see him as a kid."

"But he's not, isn't he?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow, keeping his eyes and ears open for any rustling in the foliage around them despite the conversation they're having.

"…He is… to me…" she said slowly, sounding beyond awkward. "…Well… he sure _acts_ like a kid, so the thought of him being one is not that hard, really."

"When I caught a glimpse of his face, he looks like the hot-tempered type," he commented.

"He _is _hot-tempered," Sam confirmed with a laugh. "But anyway… even though my… 'advances', as you call it, were not even really serious, and I didn't really mean anything by that… I shouldn't have done it. It's… it's _wrong_. He's _younger _than me… stupid, _stupid_ me…"

"It's just a three year difference," Nathan repeated sternly.

"Well… in my mind, it _feels _more like a _ten year difference_," Sam stated seriously. "With him as the younger one. Ugh… it's wrong. I was pretty… um, nasty, back there."

"Are you sure you're just not in love with him?" Nathan asked seriously, his eyebrows raised.

Samantha choked on her own air at that, her eyes wide and looking, for all in the world, totally disgusted. However, since they were standing back-to-back, Nathan assumed that it was just the sound of being caught.

"So I'm right?' he asked with a smirk.

"_No!" _she shouted, turning her head to look at him slightly. "Go- _HELL no! It's not like that!"_

"First stage of being in love with a friend: extreme denials," Nathan remarked, sounding amused. "Go on, tell me. I promise I won't tell."

"No, you're wrong!" she insisted. "What makes you think that I'm in love with him from our talk?"

"From the tone of your voice, you really do sound guilty about what you just did to him back in Saint Binah's plaza. So I could tell, without a doubt, that you're sensitive about his feelings, at the very least," he explained. "That, or you don't want him to know that you like him in that way. Whether it's one or the other, you care for him."

He then smiled to himself. "Therefore, you must be in love with him, if you care about his feelings that much."

"Friends can't care about each other's feelings?" she asked dryly.

"Does a 'friend' normally make advances on the other and look like she's about to kiss him?" he shot back.

Sam's brown eyes widened at that. "Th-_That's _what it looks like to others?" She let out a groan. "Oh my goodness… it's even worse than I thought… now everybody that saw us would have the wrong idea… ack… now I know why that store clerk said that we look like a good couple! Ohhhhh…. STUPID, STUPID!" she hit her forehead with the back of her hand.

"So… you do love him? Nathan asked.

"_No!_" she almost shouted. She then sighed, shaking her head. "…I didn't think you were much of a romantic, Nathan."

Against his will, Nathan could feel himself flushing a bit at that. "J-Just a little bit," he confessed quietly. "But I think it's a great chance if two people who care about each other get together."

"…You say you're a _little _romantic?" Sam asked with amusement, glad that the tables had been turned. "More like a _total_ romantic to me, from what you just said. Oh my goodness…"

"Monsters incoming!" he suddenly shouted, drawing his blades up and getting ready to battle once more. From behind him, he could feel Samantha doing the same.

And though he would never admit it, he was glad for the interruption. He didn't want to think how that certain conversation would turn to had they continued.

* * *

…**LukexSam will NEVER, never, **_**never**_** EVER happen in FitA. Apologies to those if they wanted something like that to occur in future chapters. XD**

**This chapter is inspired by the poll I've taken down a while ago, where Luke got the highest votes regarding as to who could be the closest person to OC Sam by the end of the story.**

**Fun facts: You may be able to see that Sam's obviously lying about certain parts to Nathan... but can you notice that she's trying NOT to say "Oh my God" in her dialogue despite saying it several times before, and instead saying "Oh my goodness" instead? XD Everytime she says that, remember that in her mind, she would be saying "Oh my God" as usual.**

**Ciao, ciao!**


	16. Shattered Confidence

**August has passed already, wow. And I'm commenting about that because OC Sam was thrown into Auldrant during the third week of August 2010. It's been a year already? How time flies…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Sam and Will.**

* * *

**Shattered Confidence**

_Finally!_

That was my first and main thought when me and the rest of the party had finally reached the Kaitzur Naval Port. I kept thinking '_Finally, thanks the Gods!' _over and over in my head because, quite frankly, I'm already dead tired of walking this damn border. Suuure, I knew that crossing from one country to another won't take long but… _honestly_! _A week and a half!_ _At least_ a week and a half; give or take! _That's_ how long it took us to get from the Malkuth side to the Kimlascan side. It's. _Ridiculous_.

I won't go into boring details of what we did and talked about during that entire time, but believe me… we did a lot of talking, _and singing _(blame me and Anise's boredom; I taught her to sing "Ring a Bell" by Bonnie Pink so we both could sing a duet together. When asked, I just told them that I picked it up from someone), the whole time. I think there was a point where I actually got _tired _of having a friendly conversation. Just once though. I'd rather have long conversations shoved down my throat than just being left alone and being reminded of how insanely bored I was just walking and walking and walking… you get the point.

_Anyway…_

It was supposed to be the end of this strenuous journey. You see, once we reach the Kaitzur Naval Port, we would be in the Kimlascan military port, where we would catch a boat from there that would take us straight to the Iberian continent, where we would get off at Chesedonia. There, we would have to catch another ship that would take us straight to Baticul. As a lot that might sound, it will actually take a lot less time to reach our location by ship than by land.

It's supposed to be that simple.

…But no. Once we saw smoke rising in the distance, where the military port was supposed to be, we all knew: '_It's too early to feel relieved'. _Something, or rather some_one_, just _had _to get in our way. Go figure.

And some of us would know actually just who it is when a large bird-like monster flew past us overhead; causing a strong wind to whip against us and sending sand and dust right into our faces. I felt my eyes water and I closed my eyes, covering my nose and mouth with a hand in the process.

When the wind slowed to a stop and we were all done wiping our faces free of sand, Anise spun around and glared in the direction the monster flew to. Her eyes narrowed.

"That's one of Gloomietta's pets!" she screamed angrily, clenching her fists and stomping a foot to the ground when she realized what might have happened. Smoke in the distance plus one of Arietta's monster friends would equal to something bad, after all.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ion go a bit pale as he bit his bottom lip. I don't blame him… we just spared Arietta with her life, and then she went and caused more trouble again. Should Jade get his hands on her again, he would not be as forgiving as the last time.

Guy shook his head, half because he didn't get who Anise meant and half because he's trying to get sand out of his hair.

"Gloomietta…?" he repeated, but I saw realization in his eyes. Oh, so he _does_ know who Anise meant. He's probably confused at _why _Anise would give the pinkette a nickname like that.

Anise wasn't aware of this however and, after rolling her eyes at Guy's 'stupidity', ran up to him and tried to strange him by grabbing hold of his orange vest and shaking him. Once her fingers were on him, Guy was already terrified.

"_Arietta_!" she yelled up into his face with a 'no _duh_, genius' undertone, still shaking him the best he could despite their height difference. "The God-General, Arietta the Wild!"

_"O-Okay, okay! I get it! Stop touching me!" _Guy more or less shrieked, trembling with fear. Despite his fear however, he seemed very reluctant to put his hands on her. Probably because touching an object of his abnormal fears would put him even more into a trauma than he already is.

"I'm sure you're enjoying yourself, Guy, but we'd best be going," Jade advised with obvious amusement.

Tear nodded in agreement, staring off in the direction that the monster flew off towards to. "It flew towards the direction of the harbor!" Tear noted urgently, narrowing her eyes before taking off. "Let's go!"

Luke quickly followed her without complaint for once, soon followed by Jade. I looked back towards the two behind me-

"Get her away from me!" Guy begged, sounding very pitiful when he did. I silently gave Anise (who was still taking out her anger on Guy for being 'clueless' and hadn't realize the others have left yet) a tug on her swallowtail cape, which got her attention enough to disentangle herself away from Guy, much to his relief.

When she saw that half of our party had already left, she let out a quick "Oh!" before pulling out Tokunaga from her back and enlarging it. I heard Guy let out a surprised choke at the notion, and I can't blame him.

This is the first time we have ever seen Tokunaga enlarged. And Tokunaga is… _huge_. It stood at about seven feet tall, easily towering over all of us. Stitches covered some certain areas of Tokunaga's cotton-stuffed, voodoo-like body as a helmet rested on top of its head. It doesn't have any toes or fingers and, for some reason despite being technically a doll, looked really heavy. The fact that Tokunaga's movements were somewhat slow is proof of that; its mass was weighing it down. However though, it still looked like Tokunaga could pack one mean punch.

It's… pretty intimidating. I could easily imagine it taking on Largo with no problems thanks to its height advantage.

Anise seemed unaware of the fact that both Guy and I were gaping at the combat machine (or… doll, whatever) and just jumped onto its back; holding a hand out to Ion in the process.

"Ion, come for a ride! There's no way you could run that fast!" she urged. Nodding quickly, Ion took her hand and pushed himself up to Tokunaga's back, just as Guy ran past me. Trusting them to keep up, I took off after the blond as we all ran towards the military port.

* * *

The military port, I decided, was nothing impressive to look at, even should we have arrived under more normal circumstances. There were many several houses that looked almost the same to me, occasionally separated by wooden pathway that led to each house's door. You know one of those piers where a ship would drop off packages and stuff that has a clutter of warehouses surrounding the area back on Earth? This place is no different. It is, after all, just a place where travelers can either rest or wait for their next ship to wherever they need to go, and also a place to store crates filled with supplies.

Regardless of the visual, what was supposed to be a peaceful but probably port was far from a sight to behold by the time we arrived. The place was in complete chaos, with fires burning away in certain places, filling the area with smoke. Luke was already engaged in battle with a particularly large liger when me, Guy, Anise and Ion have arrived. Behind him was Tear, who was kneeling next to a Kimlascan soldier, who was missing a leg and was leaning against a wall. I shit you not; the area where his left leg was supposed to be located was nothing but a bloody stump. I could see her doing her best to try and keep him alive by pouring First Aid after First Aid into his body.

The guy was missing his helmet, so we could see the sheer amount of pain and terror that's shown across his scratched and bleeding face. He was gritting his teeth so hard I could have sworn they would shatter at any given moment, breathing heavily with his eyes clenched shut.

After depositing Ion next to Tear's side, Anise rushed into the fray to help Luke with his battle. Because of the situation that we were in, I found little humor in seeing Luke's bewildered expression when Tokunaga lumbered past him and started punching away at the foe in front of it. I could not see Jade anywhere near us, and I knew that Mieu's hiding away in Tear's item bag.

"Hey! Hang in there!" Guy shouted, bending down on the other side of the fallen Kimlascan soldier and grabbing him by the shoulders in what I guessed should be an encouraging manner. Ion stood above all three of them, looking pale and stricken.

"It… it hurts… he… help…" I heard the man choke out with a pained gasp. I find it amazing that I could even hear him from where I was standing behind Ion, but I somehow did.

He opened his eyes, which were full of pain and resignation, and raised his head up wearily. When he did, his blue eyes caught my own for a brief moment and then… and then… I could have sword that my heart had stopped right there when his eyes suddenly went… blank. How could I describe it…? As clichéd as it may probably sound, it's like the light in his eyes went out, just like that. Like a candle in a harsh wind. Before, I never knew what that might look like when I read it in books, but now…. now I know. It's like staring into the eyes of a broken doll… blank, lifeless…

I think I may have gone into shock when I saw the man in front of me die, I wasn't sure… but… because when I blinked, Guy and Tear were no longer in front of me, and someone was shaking my arm. I turned my head slowly and duly noted it was Ion, his face full of worry.

"Again," I heard myself say. I could barely hear Ion, could barely hear the screams coming from other parts of the port, could barely hear monsters shrieking and the fires eating away at anything they came into contact with; finding myself drowning in my own thoughts.

Again…? At first I wasn't even sure what _I _was talking about, but then I realized…

Death before my eyes. Killing, murder… I was reminded of the two brothers I killed so long ago. How long ago was it since I killed them? …Over two weeks ago.

Again, I'm reminded of their deaths by my own hand. I know I promised the others that I would fight, but… it's not easy. Just those two soldier's deaths… I was already doing my best to block it all away from my mind, distracting myself with other things and other people; it's not something I'm proud of. It's not something that I could ever take back. And to think, I might have to do it again in the future. It's easy to say you're going to do something, but it's much harder to actually go through it sometimes.

This… now it's all happening again. Seeing people, actual human beings killed right in front of me. The only difference now compared to what I did all those weeks ago... this man, along with others I'm sure, wasn't killed in self-defense. They were killed because… because…

…Why_ were _people being killed this time?

It felt like an arrow made of completely frozen ice had pierced through my heart when I figured out the answer.

Nothing. This time, innocent people were being killed for _nothing_. Just thinking that particular thought made me want to turn over and puke all over the ground.

The soldiers at the Tartarus? They were killed because the Oracle Knights were trying to get back Ion, who had snuck away without anyone at Daath noticing. If the Oracle Soldiers really _were _just doing their job, they would believe that getting Ion back would let them continue on the path to prosperity. To them, the Score would grant them all happiness should they all follow it. Killing the soldiers on the Tartarus were inevitable for them, when they're in pursuit of the true path they believe in, the one the Score pointed them out to.

And now? What about now? The soldiers here didn't do anything. They weren't helping the Fon Master with running away or hiding him or anything. Heck, Ion hasn't even _arrived _when they got attacked. They truly had nothing to do with anything; they were just going about their daily business working at this port, I'm sure. The people that wanted to keep Ion from taking a ship? All they have to do is burn all the ships down; nothing more than that!

But no… that's not enough. They just _have _to drag even more innocents into this. And Arietta? What was she even _thinking _when she unleashed all her monster friends on all these people? Kidnap the engineer so she could lure all of us to Choral Castle, so she can kill us for killing her mother and getting Ion back?

_Are you kidding me, are you frickken KIDDING me?_ It wasn't until I saw Ion's startled face did I realize that I had actually said that aloud.

Gritting my teeth and making sure not to look at him, I pointed to the man that just died.

"He had nothing to do with this," I growled to him. "WE are the ones that killed the liger queen back at Cheagle Woods. WE are the ones that Arietta should be aiming for! NOT any of these guys! _What the HELL did THEY even do to her, huh? What the HELL is she thinking and who does she think she is, huh?"_

I inhaled sharply, clenching my fists.

And to think… and to think that I actually used to sympathize with Arietta back home. Back when I'm just the player behind a TV screen, and back when everything is just a game and not reality. That I thought that Arietta was really capable of being a good person.

Seeing her kill who-knows-how-many innocent people today however? Now… seeing it up close and personal made me think differently. Good people don't kill innocent people who have nothing to do with them. In the end, all these people dead are for what? For _WHAT?_

"Ion, I'm sorry, but your monster-loving friend is a _BITCH_!" I snapped. Without bothering to even hear a reply, I turned and stormed off further into the damaged port.

I walked pass many corpses, both monster and human, as I headed down to the port where the ships should be docked. I didn't spare any of them a glance as I was too absorbed in finding that stupid Gloomietta and scream her fucking head off, if I couldn't at least give her one nice slap around the face.

"Stupid, stupid; that frickken Gloomietta!" I muttered angrily to myself as I continued to march down the strangely empty pathway. Did Jade and the others cleared the floor with those ligers, or did we come a little too late? How long have the port been under attack before we arrived? How many people were killed with no one save a few Kimlacan soldiers to defend them. I pray that despite the corpses I see around me that they managed to get most of the people to safety. I truly hope and pray for that; none of these people deserve it.

But no, that bitch Gloomietta wouldn't care about that, wouldn't she? She would just whine and cry again about how cruel _WE'VE_ been to her. But noo... instead of finding _US_, she took it out on others? I never realized how much of a technical bully she was! Anger and frustration clouded my mind entirely as I continued to march down towards the port; my hands on the daggers in either side of my pockets less something jumps out at me.

When I thought about it later when everything (and me myself) had calmed down, I was shocked at how pissed and... and _self-righteous_ I myself have gotten. Didn't the same thing happen back on Earth? It's not like wars and murders have never happened; what we saw on the news proved that.

But I suppose when you know the names of the real people that are involved, know both them and the killer personally (well, I wouldn't say 'personally' but still, I know more about all these people than they know), and everything is happening right before your eyes, and that you couldn't do much to stop it from happening... well... I guess it's a completely different story.

I, after all, am the unintentional murderer of Arietta's unborn siblings. And when Arietta killed these innocent people because I _knew _that _I _am one of the people that she is after and truly wanted dead, and thus, is the one she's really after...

I'm pissed. I was very, very pissed. How dare she, how DARE she kill people when she's supposed to be looking for just ME? She may as well be killing people in my name, because seriously? THAT'S how it felt like to me! That's exactly how it felt, dammit!

So when this feeling or burning anger had captured my mind fully in its grasp, and my heart is filled with hurt and was clenched tightly in pain, I felt that my reasons for feeling so was justified. Because of that, as I was searching for the culprit responsible for this crime, I didn't _care _about how angry I was, even when I guess I'm supposed to be calm and try to see things from her eyes. Easier thought than done.

I was torn out of my angry musings when a brunet man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, came running from my right; looking over his shoulder with terror.

"_HELP ME!" _he screamed, just as a large tanned griffin soared down and grabbed the man in its claws by the waist.

As the unfortunate let out another terror-stricken yell, I snapped myself out of my stunned stupor to rush forward, jump, and grab onto the mans legs before the griffin could fly away with him in tow. I did my best to keep both my feet against the ground as I could, but it was futile; I could already feel them leaving the ground as I was pulled along with him...

"_CHIEF!_"

When I blinked, I saw that there were now two men grabbing onto the man's legs alongside with me. One of them had shoulder-length blond hair that framed his face well, while the other one has dark-green hair with a cowlick resting against his forehead and a very short ponytail. Now with three extra weights added to the man that it caught, the griffin let out an angry squawk down at us as we tried to pull the man back down.

It seemed that luck was on our side, because more weight was added against the griffin when one more person joined in to help us. A certain familiar green-haired Fon Master, that is. Obviously Ion was following right behind me when I stormed off. Was he trying to call for me when he did? I honestly didn't notice, or probably I just didn't care at the time.

Now with the four of us grabbing onto the chief's (it was then I realized who this man is; the one that Arietta wanted to capture) legs, we were pulling as hard as we could; keeping our feet firmly planted against the ground. The griffin, for its part, just kept on flapping its wings harder to try and get away, and the gusts of wind it caused threatened to blow all of us away.

A loud growl came from somewhere close to where we were. When I turned to look, I cursed to myself when I saw a white liger bounding across the pathway towards us.

Having no choice but to let go less I want to have us all mauled by the creature, I ran far to the front of the group to block the liger's path to them; quickly drawing out my daggers and pursing my lips.

When it reached me, the white liger reared back on its hind legs and brought down its sharp paws down, scratching my arms when I held them in front of me for defense and leaving three long vertical red lines in its wake.

Hissing, I swiped one of my daggers across its face before jumping back. It didn't do much good, because the liger, while barring his teeth open, leaped towards me again. Again, I quickly held an arm out in front of me to defend myself just in time before the liger's mouth closed around my right forearm.

Yeah, sounded like no big deal right? Wrong. Because having an arm in a liger's mouth is NOT something one would want to do in their lifetime. Especially when said tiger has sharp fangs that could more or less rip your skin apart. I realized now that hold a bare arm right in front of one, even if it's to defend myself, is one of the most stupid things I could have ever done my entire life.

That said, one can't blame me when I let out a shriek when it closed its teeth around my forearm. My attempts to pull it out was met with further searing pain. It was only intensified when the liger started _pulling_. I forced myself to stay close to it, because I have a feeling that if I had a tug-of-war game with a liger, with my _right_ arm being the rope, I might have lost a very useful appendage. And unfortunately for me, I'm right-handed, so I would very much like to keep my dominant hand, thank you very much!

Still screaming my lungs out, I jammed the dagger in my left hand into its eye as far as I could let it go. To my amazement, it still refuses to let go, but the very loud growl I heard resounding in its throat let me know that it did hurt the liger. It still continued to tug, and I forced myself to follow it to put less pressure on my arm.

Suddenly, Ion was right by the liger's side, and was actually _smacking it with his staff_. It's the closest to being in battle-mode as I have ever seen the kid.

I heard a man's yell, and then a second later, I saw an actual _toolbox_ thrown against the liger's head, FINALLY forcing it to release my arm as the heavy box fell to the ground and tools were scattered everywhere. With wide eyes, Ion scampered backwards when the liger trained its remaining open eye on him, my other dagger sticking out of its other eye. I saw my chance right there.

Choosing to keep my right arm limp at my side for now, I held my left arm so that my dagger was over my right shoulder, its blade out. I plunged the dagger into its side and pulled it along, causing the liger to rear up on its hind legs with a roar and almost taking my weapon out of my grasp. I quickly yanked my weapon out of its skin and jumped back. It leaped towards me again, and this time, I chose to jump to its blind area (its left) instead of standing my ground again.

I spun around as the liger went pass me, and I took advantage of its partial blindness. I must be crazy or something, especially since I got one of my arms injured, but I leaped onto its back and straddled it tightly with my legs. Not wanting to risk anything by wasting time, I just raised my left arm up and plunged the dagger in that hand down onto the liger's head with all the force I could muster.

I damn near almost fell off from its back when it reared back in pain again, even with my legs wrapped around its sides and my dagger lodged hopefully deep into its brain. Finally and luckily, my last blow got the job done, because the liger soon fell to its side against the ground. My shoulder scraped against the rough pavement as I landed, and I quickly rolled myself away: kneeling up and panting heavily.

"D-Did I really get it yet?" I gasped tiredly. _Please let it be dead already, please let it be dead already_.

"Yes. Looks like it," Ion confirmed, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

"_CHIEF!" _I heard the guys behind me yell simultaneously. When Ion and I turned around, we saw the griffin had already taken off into the air and was now just circling around the air above us, as if bragging, before flying towards the dock. Ion and the two engineers immediately followed, and I did the same as well after picking up both my daggers from the ground. I heard the protests coming from a man behind me (probably the one who threw the toolbox) as I went, but I ignored it.

Pain shot up my right arm. I hissed in pain, gritting my teeth as I cradled my right arm with my left as I ran. No biggie, I'll just find Tear and she'll patch it up with a few First Aids, no problem.

I had finally reached the dock to see that Ion, the two engineers, Jade, Luke, Anise, Tear, Guy and Van, who I haven't seen in a week and a half, are all there among with a few other strangers that were still alive. There was also a large ship docked next to the pier there, but it's currently broken down and ablaze. And when I say that it's ablaze, I meant the _entire_ thing! I could feel the heat from where I was standing, quickly causing sweat to fill my brow.

Everyone was staring up at the sky, so I followed their gaze to see the tanned griffin, with the chief engineer still alive in its grip, hovering next a large griffin that's blue in color. On the blue griffin's back was Arietta herself, clutching her doll close to her chest as she stared down on all of us with a frown.

_"Arietta! Who gave you permission to do this?" _Van yelled up at her, genuinely sounding angry as his sword was held by his side: coated with blood. Inwardly, I winced. Even in the game, I have never seen Van angry, if he was at _all_. Hearing the rage in his voice now, however, is almost frightening. He's always calm, always seemingly able to predict what could happen.

Anise stepped out from the small crowd that was there, shaking a fist up at her; her cherub-like face enraged. "I knew it was you, Gloomietta! Stop causing trouble for people!"

"I am NOT gloomy! You're mean, Anise!" Arietta shrieked down at her.

"Pot calling the kettle black, much? You're _much_ worse than her, Gloomy…" I muttered, not expecting her to hear. I wince as I rubbed the area around the missing flesh of my arm. Now that I looked at it, it was worse than I thought. There was a chunk of flesh missing from the middle of my forearm, leaving nothing a large and bloody hole to replace it. I grimaced to myself; I was God damn lucky that no bones were broken. Mental note to self… thank Ion and that black-haired guy who threw the toolbox at the liger later for getting involved.

"You unleashed your monsters on the ship and everyone that's at the port!" Van called up to her again, effectively reminding her that he's very displeased with her performance as his subordinate.

I saw Arietta wince. "Commandant… I'm sorry! Asch asked me to!" she cried to him, explaining her reasons.

I saw Van's eyes widen slightly, before he regained his composure. It happened so quickly, I wondered if I had even seen it in the first place.

"_Asch?_" he demanded.

Arietta looked at the griffin next to her, the one that still has the chief engineer in his grip.

"I have to take away the engineer who can repair the ship!" she explained. "If you want him back, Luke and Ion have to come to Choral Castle! If they don't come, we'll kill him!"

With her ransom up in the air, Arietta made a hand motion with one of her arms, and all of her griffins went flying off. I don't see any of the ligers following them however, so I assumed that everyone had gotten all of them. Good.

"…The ship is obviously out of commission, I'm afraid," Van said grimly in the tense silence that followed. He sheathed his sword. "With our engineer kidnapped, we'll have to wait for the training ship to return."

Luke looked far from pleased at the news. I don't blame him much, to him, it would mean that reaching Baticul had become further off again. Despite his obvious displeasure though, he surprisingly remained silent as opposed to throwing a tantrum. Probably because he didn't want to yell at his dear Master Van for telling him the news.

"What's this 'Choral Castle' that Arietta mentioned?" Jade asked Van curiously, holding a hand to his chin.

It was Guy that answered first though. "It's Duke Fabre's vacation home. I heard he abandoned it when the front line of the previous war drew near."

Luke seemed to perk up at the idea of having a vacation home, as abandoned as it may be. "Huh. Really?" he asked.

Guy looked surprised at Luke's lack of idea of the place. "Luke, come on! Choral Castle was where they found you when you were kidnapped seven years ago!"

Luke's eyes widened in surprise at this, but he quickly turned his head away with a frustrated look, pressing a hand to his head. "I told you, I don't remember anything from back then! Maybe I'll remember something if I go there."

But Van quickly shook his head at the idea. "There's no need for you to go. Wait for the training ship to return. I'll deal with Arietta myself."

Ion stepped up, frowning with worry for the man Arietta kidnapped. "But that means we'll be ignoring Arietta's demands."

"Isn't preventing war what's important right now?" Van prodded. He turned to stare at Luke right in the eyes. "Luke, just stay here with the Fon Master until the training ship returns so you can quickly return back to Baticul. I'll go to Choral Castle alone and put a stop to Arietta. You can help with the repairs and aiding the wounded as you wait. Can you do that?"

Luke quickly nodded, looking eager to please his master's expectations. "No problem! I know you can do it, Master Van!"

The tanned man smiled at the response. "Good. I'll be going now. Should the training ship return before I do, go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

With that said, Van walked away. When he disappeared from sight, the small crowd that formed at the dock had dispersed, with each person going off to do their own thing. Some people started to help with putting out the fires, while others either carried the wounded indoors or the corpses elsewhere for burial. The dead engineers and soldiers I mean. They'll probably burn the monsters' corpses, or skin them for what they're worth… I still remember what Nathan had taught me when I was still at St. Binah.

The rest of the party had gathered into a small group to discuss something amongst themselves. Well, all of them minus Luke- wait…

Where _is _Luke? He was just here a second ago!

I kept looking around for traces of bright red hair, until I found him huddled behind a pile of crates. Frowning in confusion, I made my way over. My thoughts about what could possibly wrong with him were soon answered when I heard him retching.

Oh…

I knelt down right behind him and, making sure that my right arm was still on my knees, pulled his hair back with my left hand as he continued to vomit. He didn't seem to take note of my presence until he finished a few seconds later.

I stood up when he did, stepping back and watching him with worry as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ugh, oh man… I was keeping that in for a while…" he muttered, and it was then that I noticed that his face was pale and a bit sweaty. He wiped the sweat away with his other hand, sighing.

He turned to face me with furrowed brows and opened his mouth- probably to say that he didn't need any help or that he was fine or something along those lines (because it's _Luke_, and because he also _never _thanked any of us for _anything_)- until his eyes drifted down, caught sight of my right arm, and widened.

Yeeaahh… poor kid looked like he was about to puke again. He looked even more paler than he already was, if that was even possible.

"Holy-! _What the heck __happened__ to you?_" he screamed, taking a step away from me. Before I could even respond, he turned his back to me. "Don't show it to me, don't show it to me!"

I refrained myself from rolling my eyes… after seeing the corpses on the Tartarus and now, one would expect Luke to be already used to it. But then I remembered that it doesn't mean that Luke would want to willingly _see_ any kind of serious gore, so I turned around so that my back is to him as well; keeping my wounded arm cradled with my free hand.

"There, my back is turned," I informed him, watching some engineers trying to put out the fire on the burning ship. "And a liger bit me, is what happened."

Even though I couldn't see it, I could just _feel _him wincing and grimacing at the image of a liger biting someone in the arm.

"Ugh… that's so… _brutal._"

"I know."

"Then why the heck are you here?" he demanded. I felt him shove me in the back, and I almost stumbled forward; Luke really has no idea of his own strength sometimes. "Go get Tear, stupid! Are you just going to walk around and leave it like that?"

"I was going to after making sure you're okay," I protested. "And, um, Luke, I know you're worried, but could you please cut down on the physicality?"

I felt him shove me in the back again. "_Go_," he ordered roughly, now sounding annoyed.

"Alright, alright…" I relented, walking over to where the rest of the group were. As I did, I saw Mieu, having recently just came out of hiding in the item bag, bounding over to me.

"Samantha! You're hurt!" he cried, his blue-grey eyes wide with worry when he saw my right arm. "_Mieuuu_, you should go get Tear! She'll fix you up in no time!" his ears suddenly drooped. "I'm sorry I wasn't of much help."

I looked down and gave the baby cheagle a small smile. "I know. Thanks for the worry, Mieu. And don't worry about it."

"Is Master alright?" he inquired, looking up at me with a frown. "He's not hurt too, is he?"

"Just feeling sick," I told him, inclining my head towards where the red-head was. "He might be vomiting still, so watch where your eyes might land, okay?"

Mieu's eyes widened even more at that, his ears flopping back up over his head as he went scurrying towards his master's side.

"_Masterrrrrrr~!_"

"_Oh, great, you again? I think I'm going to be even more sick now. Just-"_

The rest of the conversation between Mieu and Luke faded away from my ears as I continued towards where Tear, Ion, Guy, Anise and Jade are. As I came closer, I could hear more of what they're saying.

"-mietta's always so stubborn, and she moves so fast, and she never listens to anybody!" Anise was ranting, her face flushed red. "She's such a pain!"

Jade sighed as he pushed his glasses further up his nose with two fingers. "I knew things would end up like this, but there's no point in arguing over the past, so let's leave it at that."

Ion had his head bowed, his forest-green bangs nearly covering his eyes. Even without his hair hiding parts of his face, everyone could see the guilty and upset expression he wore on his face.

The Fon Master nodded slowly. "Yes, let's just help everyone here with what they may need now."

"In that case, I'll start with helping the engineers put out the fire of the ship." At this, Jade had a wry smile on his face. "From the looks of it, they may take a while with that should they not have my assistance."

The Necromancer broke away from the group, passing by me with nothing more than a quick nonchalant glance at the arm I'm cradling. I grimaced to myself when he did. Great… I know that I'm going to be hearing about this from him later on…

Tear was the first one to notice that something's wrong with me. Her single visible blue eye widened when she saw the condition of my arm and she stepped forward: gingerly holding it with both her hands.

"What happened?" she asked as she examined the damage, frowning deeply. Instead of healing the most serious wound however, she started to heal the red claw marks across my arms instead.

"Ah… got into a fight with a liger… and it kinda, uh… took a chunk of flesh off when it bit my arm," I explained uncomfortable, wincing at both the pain and the memory. I saw Guy pursed his lips together tightly, and Anise made a hiss of sympathy.

"Ohh, you poor thing…" Anise said.

"I'm sorry," Ion suddenly said, looking remorseful. "I completely forgot about your injury. With that engineer caught by the monster and listening to Arietta's demands…"

I shook my head to cut him off. "It's not your fault, don't worry about it. Tear? How's it look?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer. She had finished fixing up the claw marks, but she's still not healing the bite wound.

She motioned for me to sit down, which I did as I knelt down in front of me. My arm was still in her grasp.

"Considering the severity of the wound, First Aid won't be enough to completely heal it," she stated, making my heart plummet. I could feel the blood draining away from my face.

"So… so what?" I asked. My voice sounded small and weak, even to my own ears. "It can't be cured?"

"First Aid is a very basic fonic arte," Tear explained. "At best, it can mend back together minor tears of skin and tissue. Take a gash caused from a knife, for example. Since the tear between flesh is narrow, it can be easily be stitched back together."

She paused for a moment, then continued. "Now, imagine that you have been impaled by a sword, and its tip went entirely through your body right out your back. Those kind of wounds are far too deep for a simple First Aid to heal. It can, at best, mend the outermost skin of the wound. However, it will not be able to completely heal any internal bleeding or fix the torn tissues further inside the body. Thinking of it now, I found it impressive that Largo was still standing the last time we saw him."

She narrowed her eyes as her hands started to glow a pale green in color. "Your wound is too large and a bit deep for a simple First Aid to fix, even should I cast it several times over. You lost too much flesh for it to work. I can heal the minority of the damage, but as for the rest… I'm afraid the rest should come naturally."

"But aren't there stronger healing artes that could help?" Guy inquired, not looking as happy as I probably was with the news.

"Yes, actually. Fonic healing artes like Heal and Healing Circle would contribute greatly in healing this kind of wound completely," Tear confirmed. She then sighed as the glow faded away from her hands, looking disappointed. "Forgive me, but I have yet to master those healing techniques, or I would have gladly used them by now."

I swallowed, my throat feeling rather dry in the particular moment. "I-It's… okay. Really." Though I said that, my voice sounded hollow, and I sure as hell don't sound fine _at all_.

"At the very least… you're very fortunate that you did not lose any bones. They've only been severely fractured. Though First Aid won't be able to fix that, it is something that still can be healed with time. In the meantime, I advise you to take some Apple or Lemon Gels daily to start the slow healing process. They can dull the pain as well," Tear said as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a towel and roll of bandages. If she was trying to cheer me up just now, she didn't do a very good job at it. Regardless, I didn't pay her any more attention as I stared down at the gruesome hole in my forearm.

I found it a damn _shame _that the liger that did this to me was already dead, because I would have made its death longer and more painful as possible otherwise.

* * *

The next two or so hours –I lost track of time already- were spent getting to know every inch of the military port as we all helped with the repairs and the cleaning up. We were all going back and forth, back and forth and so on doing everything one could think of. Delivering supplies from one engineer to another, talking with the wounded to keep their spirits up, help with digging graves and burying the bodies of the deceased, skinning the skin of the dead ligers and griffins so that we could get the meat ready for lunch (not sure if I should look forward to that or not), and then some.

Last time I saw Tear, she was spending all her time in the infirmary here, tending to the wounded. Ion was with her, having had struck a conversation with all of them about one topic or another to keep their minds of their injuries, Guy was helping with rebuilding the buildings, and Anise was preparing supper. I have no idea where Jade and Luke had gone; I haven't seen either of them since Tear had patched me up some hours ago. Knowing Mieu, he's probably stalking the latter of the two around. Heh…

Despite my attempt to cheer myself up in my mind, I was still frowning to myself as I sweeped the broom across the pavement in front of me; putting all the ashes and burnt wood among other things into a nice pile to get rid of later when it's big enough.

Me? I'm with the cleaning crew? Occasionally, I would have to relay a message from one engineer to another and deliver tools, blueprints, building materials and the likes from one place to another. Well, I don't mind… it's something I can do, anyway. I'm not a cook like Anise, not a repair guy like Guy, not a healer like Tear, not- oh, you get the point.

…Unfortunately for me, the jobs I'm tasked with doesn't distract me from my own mind. It's easy to do the tasks I'm assigned to do with a wandering mind. And, really, I can't say I'm proud of myself for doing so, or that I'm not helping myself with doing it, but I'm just drowning myself in my own self-pity.

Apparently, despite the number of weeks I've been here, I think it's obvious to everyone that I'm no Goddess of War. Had I been a better fighter, or used my brain better, I wouldn't have suffered the injury I have sustained today. I tried not to think of it, but the white bandages wrapped around my right forearm, stained red from the bloody wound underneath them, and the sweet taste in my mouth is a clear reminder of what I have just suffered.

I chewed on the Apple Gel that I had popped into my mouth just before I started cleaning this area of the naval port. Come to think of it… this is my first time that I have ever had a gel, didn't I? I would have been proud of the fact that I haven't found a need to have one way up until now, but I believed that I have been lucky; lucky that Tear was there to heal any damages we got, lucky that the monsters in the field are not as strong or tough as ligers, and lucky that I have never suffered a truly serious injury… until now.

I rolled the gummi-like substance over my tongue, relishing its flavor. The taste reminded me of an apple-flavored candy. Though I knew that it's technically medicine, its sweet flavor sure reminded me more of a snack than any kind of painkilling pill (cramps… just cramps; just remember that I'm female and you'll know what I mean) I had before. I have a fondness for anything sweet, so I found myself enjoying this simple pleasure. It made me a little better. Just a little.

I swallowed the medicine and sighed, leaning against my broom tiredly.

Of course, I should have known… despite the fact that Tear is more battle experienced than I am, I still have to consider the fact that she's fresh out of training herself. Her healing artes, while useful, are not invincible. I should have known that First Aids couldn't fix _everything_. I was naïve to think that, yet I did.

…I suppose it's best for me to see the others the same way as well. Jade, even though he's more than capable of holding his own, is still human like the rest of us. If he fell from a particularly high cliff, it's impossible for him to _not _have any broken bones, or even worse, _dead_. Plus, there's still the matter of that fon slot seal he has on him. Guy has his weaknesses, and Anise and Luke both needed help every now and then from the others.

Sure, they'll all be heroes by the end, but now? At the moment? They're still prone to mistakes, and some of us still have much further to go.

My own injury is no one's fault but my own. I have seen everyone to be the heroes that they're supposed to be by the end of this long journey, in the future… that I have forgotten to look at them as they are now in the present. They're not all infallible.

I shouldn't have relied on them too much. Even earlier when I had my arm bitten off, I still remember thinking along the lines of "oh, no worries, Tear can patch it up, no problemo!"

Annnnd did she fix it up completely by the end? Nope.

Again, it's no one's fault but my own. I have overestimated them and their abilities. I should remember from now on that they all have their limits too, and that they can't help me out forever.

Maybe Shio was right… I should start worrying about myself more instead of just thinking of the others… I should learn to stand on my own, first.

I pursed my lips as I pushed my pile of dirt and garbage into a trash can with my broom, then made my way over to the next area to start cleaning up there. With a sigh, I placed a trash can down and continued to work.

…Thinking about Shio made me think of home again. How long have I been here and away from home now…? When I counted, it's been two weeks and three days now. Wonder how everyone back home have been doing? Are they still sick with worry for me? …Or did they move on, passing me off as either kidnapped and lost forever or dead?

Tears blurred my vision, but I blinked them back rapidly. No… I won't cry. I'll get back home one day… I just have to be patient… right?

Forcing myself to think of another topic, I chose to think about what day it should be back on Earth by now. It was August the fifteenth when all this mess started. Add seventeen days to that, and that would make it… holy crap, it's the first of _September_ back home already?

The first of September… three more days until my eighteenth birthday.

…And I told everybody that my birthday's on the fourth of Gnome-Redecan… which is a good _seven months away _here in this world. Crap, this would get confusing fast… and I have to be careful and not slip that I'm eighteen until then. That would also mean that no one would celebrate my real birthday, but be happy on a day that has no real significance to me. Fuck my life, seriously.

But I would have never thought that I'd be spending my eighteenth birthday, not just without my family for the first time ever, but also on a completely different world, surrounded by people that are both friends and strangers to me at the same time.

I pressed my head against the tip of my broom, sighing shakily and forcing myself to laugh at my own ridiculous predicament, though it sounded more like a choked sob to me.

Welcome to my life, I suppose. Seventeen years of a normal, boring and almost repetitive life that just decided to go crazy against my will.

I opened my eyes and sniffed, licking my suddenly dry lips, and went back to doing to work. 'Okay, enough is enough' I told myself. I need to think of other things. I need to think of happy things. I need to- hey, did something just sparkle?

Welcoming the unexpected distraction for me to focus on, no matter how small it may be, I went over to a pile of crates that were thankfully unscathed. Indeed, I saw something glitter in the sunlight from a tiny wedge between two of the lowermost boxes.

Bending down, I reached a hand into the small space and grasped the item, hearing a light jingling sound when I did. Pulling my hand out and opening it, I saw that that it was only three identical bronze coins. I raised my eyebrows at my find, turning them over in my hand.

During the week and a half of us crossing the border here, I have been touching up on the Fonic Alphabet and its numbers. The numbers were easier to remember than the letters, so I recognize the two symbols on the three coins to be the number ten. Huh… so I have found thirty Gald… that's not much of a find.

But still, money is money and finders get to be keepers, so I quickly pocketed the coins before someone could see and went back to sweeping the area clean.

Not even five minutes had passed when someone had decided to come over my way, his hand raised in greeting. I raised my hand as well and, thinking that he had his own business to do, went back to cleaning. But he didn't leave, he was just standing off to one side, fidgeting awkwardly. He let out a cough, which of course made me look up to him again.

"...Yes?" I tried asking, not sure what the problem could be with him. When I took another look at him, I noticed that he actually looked to be around my age. His black hair fell loose just below his chin with bangs covering his forehead. He also has brown eyes, a light tan, and a thin build with no muscles. Then again, from the look of his uniform, he obviously works as an engineer here.

Maybe it's because my face looked too serious or something, because the guy had started stammering out incoherent sentences. When he saw that I'm having trouble understanding, he coughed and tried again; this time with success.

"I... uh, no... I mean... you... your arm!" he forced out. "H-How is it?"

Annnnd then he let out a rather loud hiccup. ...Nice.

I raised my eyebrows at the embarrassed blush across his face as he let out another hiccup. Why would he be worried about my arm? He let out yet another hiccup, and another, and another-

"Um, it's... it's fine now, I guess," I answered as he covered his mouth in an attempt to stop the hiccups. I tilted my chin at the blood-stained bandages wrapped around my forearm. The guy had hiccupped again, so I asked, "Uh, do you need a glass of water... or something?"

"No! It's okay, I'm -_hic- _good!" he insisted without hostility, waving a hand in front of him. "I j-just always get -_hic- _hiccups like _-hic- _this! Ahh... this is not good, please wait a _-hic- _a moment...!"

I looked down and blinked to myself as the guy turned around. He removed a small plastic container from a bag in his belt and opened it. I saw that it contained many slices of lemons.

"For these, le_-hic-_lemons are the best medicine," he said quickly before folding a slice with one hand and slipping it into my mouth.

"Um, okay..."

Cuuuuue... awkward silence. I had continued to sweep the ground absently while he putting away the plastic box of lemon slices; chewing slowly to himself when he did.

At least the hiccups stopped. Dear goodness...

"I'm sorry," he said when he had finished swallowing. He sighed as he rapped his knuckles against his chest. "I know my hiccups make a bad first impression and... make me look like a... you know, a dork."

"It's okay," I replied automatically.

"But I just... you know, wanted to check if you were okay, because when that monster bit you, it looked really nasty. Especially from where I was standing," he explained, frowning. "Um... I didn't... you know... hit you with the toolbox by accident, did I? If that's the case, I didn't mean to-"

_Ah_. _That's _who he was. He was the 'mysterious savior' who threw that toolbox at the liger that bit me earlier.

"It's okay," I repeated again with a sigh. "But thank you for reminding of that. I need to thank you for helping me get that thing off."

His face turned a light shade of red again. "Oh, uh... no... problem."

We fell into a somewhat awkward silence again, so I went back to cleaning and he went back to... staring at anything else but me. This time, it lasted for a good two minutes before the guy apparently couldn't take it anymore. Because he said one of the weirdest things to break the silence, and that was:

"Um, I like turtles!"

...Had I been a bystander, I would have slapped a hand to my face with a loud groan, feeling embarrassed for the poor guy. This guy, he... he's even worse at social interactions than even me! And _that's _saying something.

As it is, I'm not a bystander, and I didn't want to act openly rude in front of him. instead, I had responded by looking over to him with raised eyebrows, my mouth open slightly in shock at the... very, _very _random statement. He obviously realized how ridiculous he sounded as well, because the poor guy looked about ready to sprint towards the frickken hills. When I remembered my manners, I forced myself to clamp my jaw shut.

Even though I was honestly speechless at that moment, seemingly against my will, I felt my lips quirk up into an amused smile for the first time today. "...Good for you." I then remembered something else. "...But you know, just a name would be enough for these kind of... talks...?"

If you could call THIS a conversation.

He looked immensely relieved; either at the fact that I probably didn't laugh in his face and walked away, or finally being able to talk about something else besides his love for turtles, I'm not sure.

"O-Oh yeah! Why didn't I think of that? I'm Will," he introduced himself. "Will-"

"_Sammy~!_" a familiar childish voice cried as a certain pink-clad puppeteer attached herself to my (thankfully) uninjured arm. I looked down to see Anise grinning up at me knowingly. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Lunch is going to be ready soon, help me find Tear and the others!"

"Shouldn't the both of you be in the kitchens instead of helping the guys with the heavier work?" Will asked curiously. When both Anise and I stared at him, he colored.

_"Ah, that didn't come out right, did it?_" he exclaimed in horror._ "_I didn't mean it like_… that!"_

"…Anyway," Anise continued, deciding to ignore the black-haired boy, "come on, Sammy. Let's go, let's go!" She turned her eyes towards Will with a smile. "You can go either go straight to the Building 5 or find your friends. Later!"

"W-Wait, what's your hurry, Anise?" I asked, dropping my broom when Anise pulled me away. She acted as if she didn't hear me and continued to pull me along. When she thought we had walked far enough, she turned to look back over her shoulder and let out what sounded like a relieved sigh.

"Okay, we can talk now," she stated, letting go of my arm and turning to me. "The Colonel's cooking today, so he's in the kitchen instead of Guy and I."

"Jade?" I asked, blanching. "You guys would let him near liger and griffin meat?"

She shrugged. "It should be okay. I mean, I don't believe he'll do anything weird or anything."

"This is the same person who joked that you put poison in Tear and my dishes," I muttered.

"Which is _stupid, _by the way," Anise added, her hands on her hips. She had a scowl on her lips. "But that's not what I came to talk to you about. Ion's pretty upset, you know."

"Ion? About Arietta?" I asked. "Of course, that should be expected, right?"

"Yeah, naturally, it's supposed to be. But he thinks that _you _are mad at _him!_" she said, annoyed.

"_What?_" I gaped at her, not sure that I heard right. "Ion thinks I'm mad at him? What made him think that? I mean, yeah sure, I didn't talk to any of you guys after Tear bandaged me up, but…"

Anise let out a loud sigh. "That, and it's also because you practically screamed that Gloomietta's a bitch –though maybe _probably _true, that's still an ugly word to use by the way- right in front of him."

"Oh my G-" I shook my head. "I don't believe this… it's Arietta I'm pissed at, not him!"

"I know that," Anise said with nod and a tone of understanding. She held the palms of her hands up. "I _get _that, I feel the _exact same way!_ But with me, Ion knows that I don't like her for a long time now, so he's used to it. You though? He doesn't know you as much as he does me. So he's worried that you're mad at him for sparing Arietta back at Fubras River. He _knows _that what happened here today was also partly his fault, even though no one sane would pin everything on him."

She then gestured to my bandaged arm with both her hands. "And _then _you went and got yourself bitten by _her _monsters, so he's seriously blaming himself for everything now. He saw you looking depressed when you walked off away from us."

I let out a frustrated sigh, pushing my bangs back with one hand and letting it stay there. "Well, _crap_. He told you? He felt that way? I really didn't know. I'm sorry."

"_I'm _not the one you should be apologizing to. And I know you didn't mean it that way," Anise assured me, dropping her arms. "But Ion's sensitive, and he's always hard on himself. But, I think he might feel a little better if you apologize. And talk to him a little, let him know that if there's anyone you're mad at, it's not him."

She then narrowed her eyes at me. "Just, if you're angry at someone he considers a friend, don't openly show it in front of him next time. And definitely, _definitely _don't take it out on him, or else I'll have Tokunaga-"

"_I'm didn't MEAN to take ANYTHING out on him!" _I protested as I dropped my hand away from my head, feeling a bit of a sting in my heart. I recognized it as fear. Anise was, although with good intentions, _threatening _me just now. And who _wouldn't _be intimidated by getting beat up by a giant killer doll? "I'll… I'll talk to him when I see him."

She nodded with satisfaction, now smiling as if we did not had a serious conversation just now, and that she just didn't threaten to beat me to a pulp. "I'm glad you understood."

With that, she latched herself to my left arm in a buddy-buddy manner again as she steered me off towards one direction. "Now, onto another more interesting topic; when's your date?"

I almost choked on my own air itself. "_What_? What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about~!" she sang, nudging me playfully. "A certain someone asked you out on a date, didn't they~?"

I blinked. "Anise, I think you heard wrong or something. I'm not going anywhere. Besides, it's not like anyone would ask me out."

She looked up at me, looking disappointed. "…You didn't notice?"

"Notice what?" I asked, furrowing my brows together in confusion.

Anise rolled her brown eyes at me response. "Honestly Sammy, I don't know whether to be relieved or annoyed. That guy back there? Will, right? He was _so _giving you the googly eyes."

If Anise wasn't holding onto my, I could have sworn that I would have tripped over my own two feet right there as we continued to walk. I stared at her with eyes and an open mouth.

"_WHAT? He was?"_

Anise shook her in head in a 'dear God, what should I do with you?' kind of way as she patted me on the arm.

"You _so _owe me for pulling you away from him. If you ask me, I think you can do better than _that_ guy," she said. "You should find someone more rich, like a noble or a doctor. Ooh!" I noticed that her eyes were suddenly twinkling. "Wouldn't it be so _cute _if we both have kids and they get married together? We'll be sister-in-laws! That sounds fun, right? Wouldn't you want to do that with me one day?"

_'Translation; We both should get married to someone rich and have our kids get married so that we could combine all our money together, and I will finally be super duper rich!' _I thought to myself wryly.

Because let's face it… it's _Anise_. She would do _anything _for money.

"We'll see," I just said, trying not to smirk knowingly to myself.

_"Who's getting married?" _Guy's voice called from above. The both of us looked up to see Guy on one of the houses' roof, a hammer in one hand. He was probably done, because he started to climb down a ladder put up against the side of the house to meet us.

"The both of us~!" Anise answered with a giggle. Guy's eyebrows shot up high at that.

"In the future when we're older," I added for his comfort. The blond's shoulders relaxed at that.

"I thought you were serious for a moment there," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "Do I even want to know why you two are talking about that?"

I jerked my chin over to the girl by my side. "She thinks I'm going out on a date later."

"But I thought he'd already asked! He was giving her the googly eyes and everything!" Anise defended herself to Guy, giving him a pout.

Guy raised his eyebrows, raising up his hands. "Whoa, hold on. Sam, did you reject someone?"

"I didn't _reject_ him-" I started to say, but Anise cut me off.

"_What_? So you're interested in him after all?" she asked, looking a tad bit displeased.

"_No_. It's not that either!"

"But you just said-"

"He didn't even ask me anything, Anise," I said with a sigh. "He had just introduced himself to me when you hauled me off."

She pouted once more, making herself look innocent. "I'm just making sure you would get the best man out there, Sammy."

"Suuure you do," I drawled.

Guy shook his head, looking bewildered. "I'm lost now."

"I know you are," I said with a smile. I raised my hand, planning to give him a consoling pat, but then remembered his phobia so I put my hand back down.

"Guy, Tear's still with the Ion at the place where all the wounded are kept, right?" Anise asked. When he nodded, she told him, "The colonel just told me to call everyone since lunch is going to be ready soon."

"Jade's cooking today?" Guy asked incredulously as Anise started to skip away.

"Yep~!" she chirped over her shoulder before running off to where Tear and Ion probably were. Which reminds me…

"Where did Luke and Mieu go, anyway?" I asked, looking around to see if I can find trace of Luke's red hair or white coat.

"They're in one of the resting facilities here," Guy answered. I looked up at him to see a slight frown on his face.

"…He didn't help with anything?" I guessed.

"He said that he's really tired."

Typical, lazy Luke.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"Hm? Oh, fine, fine," I said, waving a dismissive hand.

"Really?" he asked, crossing his arms. Oh crap, he doesn't look convinced. "You look pretty depressed last time I saw you."

I fidgeted, looking away. "Guy, forget it. I'd rather not think about my arm, okay? Thanks."

I heard him let out a sigh. "Still upset about it, huh? Look, don't be too hard on yourself about it, we all make mistakes every now and then."

He paused, waiting for my response. When all I did was run a hand over my injury though, he let out another sigh.

"…Despite your differences, you two are really alike, you know," he said. I looked at him with a frown.

"Who?"

"You and Luke," he responded, making me blink with surprise. I knew that me and the kid have a lot in common, but is it really so obvious to everyone else too?

Guy looked away, keeping his arms crossed across his chest as he leaned back against the wall behind him.

"…I think I know how you probably feel right now," he said quietly. "You wished you could somehow quickly become much stronger because you believe you're weak. You feel like you could probably never reach the level of experience that that we all have right now. You don't want to feel like a burden, but your injury tells you otherwise so you feel like one anyway, and it's a real confidence breaker. You're afraid that your injury might never go away, you feel like you should give up but you don't want to because, in the core of your being, it's just not _right. _Now you're beating yourself up because you don't know what to do with yourself right now."

He turned to face me and gave me a small smile when he saw the look on my face. "…I guess I hit all those points spot on, didn't I?"

I could only nod mutely, biting my lip. It's scary, because he had more or less put everything I've been feeling for the past few hours right on the table.

"People who just started fighting and suffered a serious injury all feel that way," Guy stated. "Four years ago, when Luke was thirteen, he broke a leg once. It was so bad he couldn't walk for weeks without using a crutch."

I turned to him, shocked. Luke? Breaking a leg? No way. "What happened?"

"He was playing with a kite when a wind blew it away and it got stuck in a tree," he reminisced. "A tall one at that. He climbed it up himself to get it down. I think it's obvious what happened next. It was a nasty fall. When I found him, he was screaming his head off, and his leg was bent at an angle that I thought shouldn't be even possible."

I grimaced at the idea. "Oh my g… goodness…"

"He didn't take it well at all when the doctor told him to stay off his leg until it's completely healed," Guy continued. "It hasn't been that long when Van started training him in swordsmanship either. Luke always wanted to try and beat Van one day. In any case, Duke Fabre had almost canceled his training sessions with Van completely when that happened."

"But he didn't in the end," I guessed.

"Because Luke won't let him, and he was practically begging Lady Suzanne and Princess Natalia to take his side," he said. "Training with Van is one, if not the only, thing that he's always happy to do, that he's always looking forward to. Said that if he didn't have Van or his training sessions, he would go insane."

Guy then shrugged. "Lots, and I mean _lots_ of arguing later, it's decided that Luke can still have his training sessions. But they won't resume until he's fully healed. During the time that Luke couldn't walk, he was… well… acting exactly as you were now. He was kicking himself for falling out of that tree, upset at his condition and the things he couldn't do and the things he _thought _he might never do again. He knew it was his own fault too. He was very self-degrading during those days. He and I talked a lot about his feelings during those days. It took him a while to feel better, even after his leg was completely healed."

He became quiet after that, and I took the moment to completely absorb the story that he just told me. I never knew that Luke used to have a broken leg… but then again, what _do _I know about him outside from what the game showed?

"…Luke still feels inferior to Van, doesn't he?" I asked quietly.

"Ever since that incident and still does," he confirmed. "You can tell every single time he calls Van 'Master', and how he's always praising him like he's a kind of holy divinity. And it's not just you and him, I used to think the same things too."

My eyes widened. "You?"

Guy nodded. "Yeah." He raised one hand up and tapped his left shoulder. "Dislocated this shoulder here once, back when I was ten." He smiled wanly at the memory. "Wasn't a pleasant experience."

He turned to face me again. "You might think I'm crazy for saying this, but one day you might be thankful with what happened to you. Know that sometimes, these things happen for a reason, however accidental they might be. I bet you learned and realized a lot of things you haven't before, haven't you?"

I thought about it for a moment. "…Well, I guess, yeah…" I admitted.

"And those things will help you in the long run later on, I promise you that," Guy told me. "Bad events don't always mean bad outcomes. You can still be healed, even if might take a long time for it to happen. I know that there would be handicapped people, retired soldiers maybe, who would probably be more than happy to be in your shoes right now, even _with_ that arm."

I bit my lip again, staring down at my feet. I could feel tears starting to well up, and I hurriedly blinked them back. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"You say Luke complete broke his leg once, and you've dislocated your shoulder," I started to say, glad that my voice sounded somewhat steady. "I just got bitten by a liger, and I don't think that's as serious as the injuries you two suffered. Do… do you think I'm overreacting about this?"

"I think you need to word that question a little bit more differently," Guy remarked. "Is mistake that you made in the battlefield, where your very life is on the line, worth dwelling on? The same life that could be easily lost if you were less lucky?"

I looked up at the sky, closing my eyes and thinking the question over in my mind.

"…Well, yes, of course," I answered. "If you don't think about what you did wrong, you could die the next time you make the same mistake. Our life's really worth worrying about, right?"

"Then no, you're not overreacting," Guy stated confidently. "Thinking about your mistakes and about where you did wrong is better than pretending they never exist. You lost a lot of skin, you've got a fractured bone, but had you been less lucky, it's your entire arm that would be useless. If you had outright bad luck, you would even be dead by now. It's okay to dwell on your mistakes, but you should also be thankful that you're still alive and can still do things you want to do by the end of the day. You didn't suffer the worst case scenario, and even _I'm _thankful for that. The others, too, even if some of them might not admit it."

"…Heh…" I shook my head. For some reason, I found myself smiling. "You… are you _t-trying _to make me cry, Guy?" I felt that my smile got a bit bigger. "Oh, hey, that rhymes…"

"Like I want to make girls cry on purpose!" He snorted. He, too, was smiling as he looked at me. "Oh, hey now, there you go. You're cuter when you smile."

I could practically feel the heat exploding across my face.

My 'Guy Fangirl' side wasn't helping either. I could practically see the chibi version of me jumping around with hearts in her eyes and surrounding her entire body in my mind's eye.

_'Oh, Guy~! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~!'_

I mentally told _that_ side of me to shut up.

I sniffed once to force my tears to go away and forced myself to laugh as I started to walk away. "You're a real flirt, Guy." I turned to look at him over my shoulder. "…You have no idea how much I want to pat you in the arm right now, but… all I can say is… thanks."

He gave me that warm charming smile of his again that almost made me swoon. "No problem. And Sam?"

My heart skipped a beat. "Y-Yeah?"

"You're going the wrong way."

Ouch. Crash and burn, Sammy… total crash and burn.

"I-I know that…!"

* * *

"…so it's really not like that. Again, I'm sorry," I finished, picking at the meat on my plate with a fork.

Ion just smiled kindly at me. "Oh, it's alright. I apologize too, for misunderstanding you."

I snorted. "You don't have to apologize for everything, you know. Some things are just not your fault, Ion."

"You _both _apologize too much," Anise piped in, an eyebrow raised in mock annoyance.

"I'm sorry," both Ion and I say at the same time, making her groan and to bury her head in her arms.

"Honestly…" I heard her mumble.

Jade tapped Anise on the head. "Now, now, Anise… haven't your parents ever taught you it's not polite to put your elbows on the table?"

Luke gave the colonel a look for that as Anise sat up more properly in her seat. I can understand why he's doing that, because he's currently resting his cheek in the palm of one hand… which involved putting his elbow on top of the table. I chuckled at the sight. Then again, I'm the type of person who tends to my elbows on the table often too. I always found that a silly dining rule.

We were all seated in the dining facility of the naval port. It almost resembled a cafeteria, as there were four long and rectangular tables that were lined in a row. Each table can seat several people at once. The room was filled with conversation from every side of the room, as such, we all had to raise our voices a little so as to be heard over the noise. I could see Will seated on one of the other tables, deep in conversation with his friends.

I turned my attention back to Jade when he started talking again.

"So, since I have spent hours in the _agonizing_ heat of the kitchen making sure that the food is perfect, what do you think of my culinary skills?" he asked, leaning back against his seat with crossed arms, his trademark smile already on his face.

Luke stabbed a slab of meat with more force than was required necessary with his fork. "Edible," he stated simply. "I'm still alive too, so _that's_ a plus."

"I… was kinda scared when I found out we'll be eating liger and griffin meat," I admitted. "Never had those before, but… okay, you pulled it off."

"What kind of gravy is this?" Tear asked, holding a spoon of said gravy as she poured it over the meat in her plate. "I tastes familiar, but I can't put my finger on it…"

"Ah, it's probably because of the spices I added that hid the full taste," Jade commented as he leaned towards the table as if getting ready to share a juicy secret with us. He clasped his hands together in front of him. "I just boiled a certain type of meat until it's completely melted. You would not believe the trouble I had to go through to get it done."

"A 'certain type of meat'?" Guy repeated. "You mean you didn't use the meat from the ligers and the griffins?"

…Why do I suddenly have a sense of foreboding when he asked that…?

"Oh, one of the good kind of meat," Jade answered vaguely, smiling behind his clasped hands.

"So, what is it?" Anise demanded.

"Allow me to give you a hint…" Jade said almost sinisterly. "It is a very, very common warm-blooded mammal that walks on two legs. Surely you all know what I'm talking about."

…Yep. I knew it. I knew it was a bad idea to ask…!

"A very, very common-" Tear started, her eyes slowly widening.

Anise looked pale all of a sudden, "-warm-blooded-"

"-mammal that walks on-" Luke was covering his mouth now, looking more than ready to puke. He's already looking a bit green in the face.

"-two legs?" Guy finished as he slowly put his utensils down.

"…Jade, don't joke with us," I snapped, but the way my voice shook gave how I really feel away. "You're telling us that this is… this is what we really think it is?"

The Necromancer raised his chin slightly, his glasses flashing when it caught the overhead lights.

"Oh, but it is. It's _exactly_ what you think it is," he said with sickly calmness.

"_Jade…!_" Luke was already standing from his chair. "_I'm going to __strangle__ you, you sick-minded person!"_

Already, the people seated at the other tables were staring with confusion, unable to hear what was going on. They could only see Luke looking like he's going to kill someone, more specifically, Jade Curtiss.

Jade merely let out a dramatic sigh, leaning back in his seat and looking at Luke as if he's overreacting.

"Oh? What's the matter Luke? I thought you're fond of chicken," he remarked casually, looking innocent when he's anything but. "Really, it's not just you either; it seems that everyone had suddenly developed a disliking of chicken meat as well. Is it a kind of new trend now among you young people?"

"Um, Jade..." Ion piped up meekly. "Chickens are-"

"-not mammals, but birds. Yes, I'm fully aware of that," Jade assured him. "However, it's one of the few common mistakes that some people still believe today, so I just went with it. And from the look of your reactions, I was right in you all believing that. Besides..." he shrugged, raising his hands up. "It's also more fun that way."

Cue simultaneous facepalms from everyone in our party minus Jade.

I swear, that man will be the death of us one day.

* * *

**I just recently found out that Duke Fabre and Jozette Cecille did … you know... IT, with each other. No, seriously, I shit you not. It's revealed in one of ToA's Drama CDs, which is SICK! O_O; It's also the reason why her family didn't fall into poverty and why she rejected Aslan Frings at first; she didn't want to 'taint' him as she considers herself impure. He somehow knew, but didn't mind.**

**Makes you wonder how Guy and Luke will take it if they knew. "Oh, hey Guy, my Dad slept with your cousin, but please don't reconsider killing him?" XD**

**Oh, and the 30 Gald that Sam found in this chapter? A shout out to an inside joke between me and FurudeRika (who had done the same thing in her own ToA insert story, Abysmal Liquidity) when we made a bet. Here's a quick play…**

**Me: Bet you 30 Gald that Brit (noa748) will advertise the picture you drew of OC Brit in her next chapter of New Reality.**

**Rika: Bet you 50 that she will advertise it in the chapter AFTER the next one, just to spite us. XD**

**Later…**

**Brittany: *advertises Rika's picture in the most recent (at the time) chapter of New Reality*.**

**Me: XD You owe me 30 Gald, Rika.**

**Rika: Darn.**

**Not literally, of course. It's all in good fun because the three of us are internet BFFs. XD**

**Anyway, that's all for this chapter, so please review on your way out!**

**Ciao ciao!**

* * *

_**Sneak Peak of next chapter;**_

_I felt all the blood drain from my face. No way, I can't believe I'm hearing this. "...What?"_

_Jade sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It's been already decided. You are not going to Choral Castle with us."_


	17. Figured It Out

**Disclaimer: Do not own Tales of the Abyss or anything related to it. I only own Sam, Will and Shio.**

* * *

**Figured It Out**

"Why do I have to do the dishes? Can't you do it yourself?" Luke complained as he leaned against a counter top, watching me drop the pile of dirty plates into a sink.

I gave the pile a dismayed stare, being reminded of a tower with how _high_ the dishes piled up were. I pointed at the now full sink. "You think I can do all this on my own? My Go-" remembering midway that I was about to say 'God' when I'm not supposed to again, I quickly changed my wording, "-_goodness_… I just realized how many people there are…"

"Then ask someone else," he suggested with a shrug that essentially said 'none of my business'. Then, with something in his tone that I wasn't able to identify, he continued, "But no, really. Should you _really _be doing this? Doesn't it hurt? Get someone else to do the dishes."

"Everyone else has other things to do," I reminded him, turning to face him with a tired look. "This is no small port, after all. This place and the wounded needs all the help it could get, none of which we would be able to give." I forced on a smile. "Really, all things considering, we have the easiest job to do, so why not?"

"But why me?" he asked again, looking _just_ a little irked. Which is really surprising, 'cause I expected him to have a full-out conniption fit by now. "I never have to do things like this before, so why should I start _now_?"

I took in a deep breath, letting it slowly back out in a long drawn out sigh that sounded just as exasperated as I'm feeling inside. I'm really not in the mood for this… but I don't want to start screaming at him for his inconsideration. I was never the type to show how ticked I'm feel when I am, so I'm not about to start unless I really can't help it.

"Because," I started calmly, "your mansion, I'm sure, has more than _enough _people to do it for you and plus, they're paid to do so. Sure, we have plenty of people here too, but they all have other jobs to do so obviously _they _can't do this. Which is why, as a show of good camaraderie, we're helping them out in a time of great need. Come on, don't you think it feels good to be of help to someone?"

It did not take long for him to answer that. "Not really."

I placed a hand over my mouth and dragged it down with another sigh, nearly rolling my eyes in the process. Time for a different approach. "Luke… the next time we have a meal… do you want to eat on a dirty plate?" I asked.

Luke's face twisted into a disgusted expression at the image. "Ew, no."

I smiled. "Good." I turned on the tap and tossed him a rag with my free hand. "Then get over here and help me out. Or would you rather Jade come in here and drag you off to help with carrying heavy building materials? Maybe even with the burials. Either way, I don't think you would like to have either of those two jobs. Really, this is one of the easiest things to do besides cleaning when you put all those things into perspective."

"I still don't want to touch those dirty stuff! My gloves will get messy!" Luke complained, holding up both his hands to show me the aforementioned gloves.

"You can get them washed when you're done, you know," I pointed out, my patience quickly wearing out. I shouldn't be surprised really, considering the kind of person Luke is right now, but… dammit! After all the death and destruction, I would figure that he's _at least _compassionate enough to help with cleaning up: not lay on a bed all day in a room that the people here are considerate enough to let us have for free!

With that said, you need to understand my annoyance towards this kid for his reluctance about lending us a helping hand.

I have an _injured arm_. But I'm still helping, aren't I? Luke is _fine_. He has no excuse for not helping these unfortunate people. Especially when said people, as I just mentioned, are letting him use _their_ faculties for _free._

"But it's too much trouble!" he protested once again. "And I didn't come in here to do all this, either!"

I felt my eyebrow twitch and I had to refrain myself from letting out a frustrated sigh. "Then what, pray tell, are you doing in here in the first place?"

"First of all, don't use that tone with me!" he commanded, reminding me of the true royalty he is. _You should be grateful I'm not screaming at you despite my annoyance right now, Young Lord, _I thought sarcastically as he continued, "Second of all, I just want to ask you about that."

"'That?'" I repeated, having already turned away from him and started on the laborious task of scrubbing _allll _the dishes clean. "That what?"

"That… that thing," Luke answered vaguely, a note of bother in his tone. "Anise's giant doll… thing with the weird name. Um, Toto-something… I think."

"You mean Tokunaga?"

"Yeah, that's it." I could see him nod from the corner of my eye. "How does that work?"

"Isn't that something you should ask Anise herself?" I pointed out, not looking away from my work.

"I _did_," he answered with an exasperated huff. "But she told me it's a lady's secret. Tear didn't know, so I thought you would. Guy didn't know either, and _he's _the fon machine master!"

I hummed at the back of my throat and just shrugged, mentally tucking away whatever information I knew about Tokunaga to the back of my mind less it accidentally slipped past my lips. After all, as far as the others are concerned, I 'don't know anything' much about them other than what they had already told me up until now.

It doesn't mean I don't want to, though. I mean, I would enjoy being seen as someone a little intelligent, and giving a 'hunch' about how Tokunaga works might greatly help with that. Still, I'm too paranoid of revealing anything I'm not supposed to know: it's too risky. It would just give me questions that I'm not sure I could answer from the rest of the party. After all, if a fontech maniac like Guy doesn't know, then what reason should I? Well, that's my thought, anyway.

So instead, I just said to Luke, "I dunno. Beats me."

Oh yeah, speaking of which, that reminds me. Remember when Ion mentioned that an Oracle soldier had thrown Anise out a window of the Tartarus to fall _thirty feet or so _to her death while it's still moving? Yeah, the _main_ reason why Anise did not get killed, or at least fatally injured from the drop was because Tokunaga saved her life. Seriously.

As she fell, thanks to her quick-thinking and reflexes (and despite her anger, as she was swearing revenge on the one soldier that threw her out), Anise had pulled out Tokunaga and enlarged it: using its soft body to cushion her fall when she hit the ground. It was an amazing feat. When Anise told us about it while we were making our way here, even _Jade_ was impressed. He even complimented her quick thinking, which put the young Fon Master guardian in a good mood for the rest of the day (which also resulted in a hearty dinner later on that night, which we all were pleased with).

Luke did not say anything following that, so I assumed that the kid's probably sulking in silence by now, so I just continued with washing the dishes.

When he did spoke up again, it was something I didn't expect to come out from his mouth.

"You're hiding something."

I froze for a second, then forced myself to continue scrubbing this one particular greasy plate clean.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" I made myself ask, pushing down my unease.

I heard his footsteps against the floor as he moved to stand right next to me, jabbing a finger into my upper arm accusingly.

"You had that look!" the red-head claimed confidently.

"What look?" I demanded, shrugging his hand off.

"You know what I'm talking about," he insisted. "That look in your eyes! That 'I know something but I'm not telling you' look! I know one when I see one. I see those _all_ the time back at the manor!"

"What are you talking about?" I asked once again, doing my best to keep my face neutral. I _really_ didn't want him to be aware of how _spot on_ he actually was. "Seriously, what do you think I'm hiding?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luke pointing a finger straight at my face again. "You know how Tokunaga works, don't you? Come on, _spill it!_ I want to know how it works _now!"_

…Why did I get the feeling that he was more offended at me not answering his question immediately than the reason of _why_ I was lying in the first place? …Oh yeah, because he's used to getting what he wants for the most part. Silly me.

Already at the end of his short patience, Luke gave me a shove in the shoulder. I stubbornly ignored it in order to continue with my work. _"Why aren't you telling me?"_

"It's stupid," I finally replied with a clipped sigh. Suddenly getting an idea from my airless response, I bit back a smile and continued, "It's just a guess anyway."

"Tell me anyway," he ordered firmly.

I bowed my head slightly so that my hair would fall forward to hide my face from him because _oh_, this would be _hilarious_. "Mind control."

"…Huh?"

His voice was _so_ flat, I almost giggled right there. Fortunately, I didn't. I nodded in confirmation to my previous statement and repeated, "Mind control. Anise can control Tokunaga with her mind."

I could practically _feel _the noble's stare burning a hole into the side of my head, obviously trying to figure out if I was serious in my claim or not. I was then glad that my hair was hiding my face from him, or he would see my lips twitching from my attempt to keep myself from smiling.

After a few more seconds of silence, in which the only sound in the kitchen was of me scrubbing the plates clean, Luke finally spoke again.

"What?" he asked, more out of incredulity than from lack of understanding. "That's stupid."

"And _now _you know why I didn't want to tell you," I sang with amusement. "Or, oh, it _could _be voo-doo."

"Voo-doo?" he repeated. "What the heck's _that?"_

"It's… um…" I paused. How _can _you describe what voo-doo is anyway? "It's like… um… a cursed item that people make. Usually in order for bad stuff to happen. Sometimes to other people."

"Oh, that's really helpful," he muttered sarcastically.

Still, I did not let his response get me down. So in a jovial tone, I continued on with my false theory. "Still, I really do think it's voo-doo. I… _oh!_ I just remembered a story I heard before that sounds almost similar with Tokunaga."

I'm lying now obviously, but I don't care. My mood was slowly being steadily brought up from this conversation alone, and I'm having more fun with this than I thought I should.

"Yeah." I smirked. "There was a circus, see? This circus was known for moving from place to place for their performances. The man of the story was one of the performers that dresses up as that circus' mascot, which was a giant and cute smiling honey-colored bear. The kids loved him, and he enjoyed making them smile and laugh."

"Uh… okay…?" Luke sounded confused. "But what does that have to do with this… voo-doo, or whatever?"

"I'm getting to it." After forcing a serious face on, I continued with my false 'real' story. "Anyway, so everything was perfect until one day. The man whose job was to walk around everywhere in the mascot costume was told by the ring leader to ride a unicycle while juggling balls-"

Luke quickly interrupted. "How is that ba-"

"On a thin rope. While being a good fifty or so feet high above from the ground," I finished.

"Oh. _Ohh…"_ He sounded hesitant now. Even he could tell where this story was heading. "B-But… there's no way he could be that stu-"

"He agreed to do it," I went on, trying not to laugh when I sneaked a glance to see Luke's horrified expression face, all the while still doing the dishwashing as I talked. "The ring master was so confident in his skills; he did not think that a safety net was necessary. Anyway, when the mascot man was doing his act in front of an audience, he lost his balance and fell down all the way to his death."

Luke made a distressed sound at the back of his throat at that.

"After his death, that circus got a bad reputation from that accident alone, and no one goes there anymore. But the ring leader, being a stubborn and greedy man, refused to throw in the towel just yet. Using dusty forbidden tomes he found from who-knows-where, he tried to resurrect the mascot man. He intended to bring his most popular performer back and make up a lie to the public about how his death was actually all part of an act."

I shrugged. "Technically speaking, it was a success. But at the same time, it was also a failure. He did not revive him per say, but just managed to summon his spirit from the astral plane. So he needed a new body in order to be brought back to the world of the living completely since his old one has long been decayed. So the ring leader put the man's spirit into the mascot costume he often wore so many times before. But then the mascot brutally dismembered him: killing him instantly."

I took in a breath. "The ritual the ring leader performed was dark in nature: it warped, twisted and tainted the man's soul and turned him into a rampaging, bloodthirsty monster."

"Oh, but that's not all." Both Luke and I jumped with short simultaneous yells as Jade suddenly joined in our conversation, his tone decidedly sinister. "Despite being a monster in spirit, the man still somehow retains his fondness for children and adolescents. It is said that he wanted to by a child's side and protect them from harm, but really, he just wanted to sate his hunger for killing. Which was why he chose young people with dangerous jobs. And as of this moment, that child today is Anise herself."

Oh dear God, Jade is actually joining in on my ruse? Whenever it comes to trolling the heck out of Luke (he enjoys doing it to the rest of us too, but Luke's his main victim for the most part), the guy sure is all gung-ho about it. And now, with another person 'confirming' the story, Luke looked outright terrified now. I could see beads of sweat starting to gather on his forehead.

The redhead's face went pale with realization. He stammered, "S-So… T-Toku… Tokunaga… is…?"

"The vengeful spirit of the man who used to work in that circus," Jade confirmed. "I would suggest that you not get on Anise's bad side, or else she would not protect you from Tokunaga. The reason why we all are alive now is because Anise has no desire to kill us… and Tokunaga follows her wishes."

The necromancer suddenly clapped once, and his voice went back to its usual jovial tone as he said, "Now that _that _rather frightening real life story's done, it's time for you to get back to work, Luke."

"O-Oi, w-wait a second! Are you just going to leave Anise to carry that thing around by herself if it's a real monster?" Luke exclaimed.

"Don't you know?" Jade asked knowingly. "If we try to separate Tokunaga from Anise, then we would all get killed in our sleep. It can't be helped. For your own safety Luke, I would advise against talking to Anise about this, or Tokunaga would be aware of your plan."

"N-No way…"

Yep… Jade's seriously going along with my prank. I don't know whether to burst out laughing or give him a weird look for his trouble.

"H-Hey! Let go!"

Blinking, I watched as Jade grabbed Luke by the shoulders and then proceeded into dragging the younger boy out the kitchen door.

"I believe we could put your muscles to use. If you have enough time to talk to Samantha while she's working, then you should spend that time helping us. Excuse me Samantha, but I'll be stealing him from you now."

"Sure, go ahead," I said casually with a smirk, turning back to continue working on the dishes. "Have fun you two."

"_What's so fun about this? I don't want to help! Let go!"_

I listened to Luke's angry yelling until his voice faded away. As I went back to doing my own job, I realized that I was all alone again. Sighing, I frowned. Without Luke or anyone else around, I was left with nothing but my own thoughts.

While normally I don't dislike being alone, today's just an exception. It's _hard_ to be perky in a ruined place where a lot of people got killed just a few hours earlier with me there to witness it.

Don't get me wrong... I'm really upset with what had happened but... I didn't want to brood. Brooding alone like I did earlier about my injured arm makes me think of unpleasant things and puts me in a foul mood, which would _then_ give me a heavier heat along with a pounding headache. It may be a shallow reason I know, but I... just didn't want to be sad.

Is it not better to smile and stay optimistic during times like these so that we could give hope to everyone and encourage them to hang in there? To do their best, and that everything will be okay now matter now bad it looks now? I want to be that kind of person, but I'm not. As it is, I could already feel my depression for today returning to pull me into its dark hold.

It's sad that I need to rely on other people like Guy, Luke and the others to cheer me up and distract me from reality, even if it's just for a while...

* * *

"There you are. I didn't think that you'd be here the entire time."

I blinked out of my daydream, immediately looking out of the closest window in the kitchen at the sky. From the coloring of the sky and the amount of light now out there, I believed it was late dusk. How long _have_ I been in here anyway? The whole time, I was robotically doing the same repetitive movements: wet plate, scrub said plate with a soapy sponge until nothing was left on it, wash then dry it out, put the plate in the 'clean' pile and repeat. I kept doing this until I was finished... some time ago, and was sitting around in a daze since then. Hence why I lost track of time. Since I was not allowed to do anything else too strenuous since I would be stopped by someone like Tear or the other, I was left with nothing to do. I didn't want to bother anyone while they were working, so I did the next thing I could do: daydream.

...Hey, it succeeded in fending off my boredom quite well, so why not?

"Oh, it's past dusk out there already," I commented on the obvious fact, more for conversation than anything as I patted my hands against my pants absentmindedly. I turned to face Tear, who was the person who entered. "What time is it now?"

"Almost six, last time I checked," she answered. For some reason I didn't understand, she was giving me a disapproving frown. "You were washing the dishes? With your injury, is that wise?"

I held up my right arm to show her my cast. Compared to earlier, it did not hurt as much now, as only a stinging pain remained. It had _nothing_ to do with the fact that I had swallowed more Apple Gels than what was probably considered necessary when no one's looking! Nope! No siree!

...I _did _actually, if you can't tell from that blatant lie of mine.

"I'm good, really," I assured her. "Didn't want to just sit around while everyone's hauling ass working."

"In this case, I'm sure that your reason is understandable." Tear beckoned me to come out of the kitchen with her as she walked back out, so I quickly followed. "However, didn't I tell you earlier to keep your cast away from water?"

I frowned. "Yeah, you did. I know too, of course, so I made sure to be careful about it, so it should be fine."

We made our way through the dining room until we came across the table that Tear had left her bag on. She motioned for me to take a seat after she did, and then opened her bag to pull out a roll of bandages and a Lemon Gel to place them on the table top.

Earlier, before she patched up my arm in a cast, Tear had applied a Lemon Gel directly on my wound, which hurt like FRICKKEN hell. She explained that when spells like First Aid could not help much, that was when gels can be used. A Lemon Gel should be used, since it's somewhat stronger than an Apple Gel, and Apple Gels can heal as much as a single First Aid spell could: minor tears and destroyed tissue that can be healed from the surface.

Since it is stronger, a Lemon Gel is more effective to use when dealing with deeper wounds and more serious injuries. Though gels are not as quick-effective as spells, they _can _do wonders just as well. Even more useful if you don't know a healer like Tear nearby. So to common people here, I believe that it's better than nothing.

Though it will take a bit of time, if we applied a Lemon Gel directly to my injury twice or trice daily, then its gooey liquid could seep deep down into my wound and repair the broken tissue further inside, hasten the healing of the fractured bones, _and _mend the outer skin of my arm all at the same time. Something that a simple First Aid spell is not strong enough to do due to its simplicity.

Eating Apple Gels like I did earlier can only numb the pain. That's the one main difference between apply a gel directly to a wound and eating them. Though eating gels can help with the recovery process as well, it won't be as quick as applying them directly to your wounds.

On that topic, let me explain about gels that, in the game, recovers MP. Obviously, MPs do not exist in the real world here, so what are MP-restoring gels- like an Orange Gel- used for? I indirectly got the answer for the entire question from Tear earlier when I asked her about her not using the Melange Gels we got from Glinn back at St. Binah. She explained that though Melange Gels can heal as much as Apple Gels, Melange Gels can also cure mind fatigue- a term I remembered Glinn himself mentioning when he talked about those gels back them- and she believed it would be best to save those for Jade and herself and, if necessary, the melee fighters that uses artes as well.

At the time, I was practically half-asleep when he mentioned it so I didn't give it much thought at the time, and then forgot about it later. It wasn't until earlier today that I remembered and asked Tear about what mind fatigue was like.

'Mind fatigue' is basically what ALL fonist and strike artes users (though more of the former, since fonic artes requires more time, fonons and concentration than strike artes) suffer if they use too much spells than their mental strength can achieve. A fonist's mental strength can become stronger through training and adapting themselves to be used their own fonic artes: pushing themselves to use as much as they could, otherwise they'll be screwed in battle.

Drawing fonons from one's surroundings into their body, turning them into elemental destructive power, directing them to their weapons, and then unleashing them onto their opponents can slowly but steadily put a strain to one's mind. One would know if their mind is seriously starting to be strained when their head starts to hurt badly from a headache. Orange Gels and Melange Gels are some of the gels that could instantly cure that mind fatigue.

In the _worst case scenario,_ a fonist that tries to cast more fonic artes than his mental capacity could allow him to handle would cause his mind to snap from the pressure and suffer permanent brain damage.

And that's how it is.

Tear brought me back to the present when I heard her telling me something. "Show me your cast," she instructed as she removed her gloves and placed them on the table.

I complied, and she gingerly held it between her hands as she examined it. Her visible eye then narrowed. "Look... it's a bit wet," she pointed out, disapproval clear in her tone. "Try not to do any more work for the time being, or you'll just slow the healing process."

I nearly winced at her scolding. Though Tear did not raise her voice and spoke to me in a cold manner, her displeasure was clear in her tone and expression. Despite that though, I felt inclined to protest.

"It's just a little water," I insisted. In my mind, it wasn't as bad as she's making it out to be, and she's just over-worrying about it. Not only that... "And like I said, I just wanted to help. I would really feel left out if everyone's working and I'm not lifting a finger to help."

"You can't help if you make injury get worse due to you neglecting your own well-being," Tear lectured sharply. "Tell me, even if you _were_ able to help us now with your current state, would you be able to help us again _later_ when we expect you to fight again? Can you fight your best despite having a still injured arm?"

This time, I _did_ wince, seeing the truth in her words. Suddenly feeling very foolish, I wasn't able to maintain eye contact any more with her. Amazing how Tear could make me feel like a little kid in front of a stern mother. She definitely gave off that kind of vibe every time whenever she's displeased with someone's attitude. Now that I was on the receiving end of her ire for once instead of Luke, I felt that more clearly now than I ever did before.

"I-I'm sorry," I apologized, still looking away when I did.

I saw her shake her head from the corner of my eye as she removed the bandages that were wrapped around my forearm. I was glad that I was looking away when she did, because I did not want to see the gruesome mess that was my wound.

"...Considering how you're not in pain as you were earlier, can I ask how many apple gels you've taken to numb the pain?" she asked after a brief moment of silence as she- I'm assuming- inspected my wound.

I froze up upon hearing her question, still refusing to turn and look at her in the face because I did not want to see the irked expression that's sure to inevitably cross across it from what I was about to tell her.

I bit my bottom lip and fidgeted in my seat uncomfortably. "Um..."

The younger girl before me sighed. "Samantha..." Tear's tone was both stern and expectant. Despite my reluctance to do so, I caved in.

"...F-Five?"

She sounded understandably shocked. "Five?"

_At the very least_ my mind said, but my cowardice at the idea of facing off against one PO'd Tear forced my mouth to instead finish with, "I think."

"You _think_?" Tear repeated and, despite my attempt to soften her reaction a bit, she sounded rather ticked. When I sneaked a look, she had a look of pure exasperation on her pretty face. My glance quickly darted away again when our eyes caught. "Didn't I tell you earlier not to take too much? Please remember that the rest us may need them as well later. And considering our current position right, we need to conserve as much money as we could."

I winced again for two different reasons: the first one of course because of her scoldings, and the second reason being the sensation of her rubbing a Lemon Gel a bit too hard directly onto my wound. I hissed sharply through my teeth as my eyes watered, trying my best not to scream from the pain. Probably seeing the look on my face, Tear eased up on her handling a bit, though it still hurt having the medicine applied directly to the torn flesh and having the gooey substance seep into the opening and further into my arm.

After she was finished and was in the process of wrapping up my arm with a fresher roll of bandages, I still felt really stupid. I felt like I should have known better instead of just looking out for my own interests over the entire group as a whole. I knew everyone minus Luke and I had brought enough money to preserve themselves during just a short trip... not a longer more arduous journey that involved more people than they expected to have to watch over.

With that in mind, I slumped further into my seat and dejectedly mumbled, "I'm sorry. It just really hurts... and I just couldn't help it. Sorry..."

Finished with her work, I turned to look at Tear just as she started to put away the stuff back into her bag. She did not look happy, but at least she's less angry than she was just a minute ago.

"Did you take only Apple Gels?" she inquired.

I nodded. "Yeah... just Apple Gels, I swear."

She let out a sigh as she absently brushed her bangs away from her face with a hand, only for it to fall right back over her right eye again.

"Well, what's done is done. I suppose it was a good thing we stocked up on supplies back in St. Binah," she said. "Still, try to bear with the pain and don't take any more gels than what is considered necessary. Remember, we're on a dangerous journey and we have five other people as well as a cheagle to consider as well. We need to use our group money and supplies sparingly for future possibilities."

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed solemnly, resting my arm on my lap. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

Tear smiled a bit in approval. "I won't complain any more if you take up your word on that. Keeping that in mind, you should take it easy for a while. I think you've helped enough with the cleaning duties and plus, I also think Luke was worried about you."

I jerked back a bit, my eyes widening as I stared back at her incredulously. I felt my lips then curling upwards into a smile and I laughed. "Ahah, I _think_ something's wrong with my hearing, Tear. I could have _sworn _that you just said that Luke- _Luke_- is _worried _about _me_." I raised my eyebrows to show my skepticism. "_Riiight..._ like _that_ is true."

Her single visible eye narrowed slightly. "I'm serious. Earlier today, he argued with me about my inability to completely fix your arm. 'You're a _healer!_ You're _supposed_ to get it done right!' was what he said," she recited with a slight smile.

With my eyebrows still raised, I continued to stare at Tear in blank disbelief, trying to get the idea of _Luke_ actually being _worried_ about _me_ to wrap itself around my mind. Though I knew that Luke's not actually a bad person, being actually told that he's concerned for my wellbeing is a great surprise. With the exception of that one time when I broke down after my first kill in the Tartarus, Luke was never actually open with his real feelings towards the rest of us. And in addition to that, his loud mouth, hot temper and his tendency to be rather abusive both physically and verbally, it's easy to forget that he actually cares when push comes to shove.

In response to what Tear had just said, I shook my head. "He didn't say anything when he was with m-"

_"But no, really. Should you really be doing this? Doesn't it hurt?"_

I froze when I remembered that part of our conversation. Earlier, I didn't pay much attention to it, since I was too busy trying to convince Luke to help me with the dishes, but now I noticed it. I then realized what the tone in his voice was when he said that.

Concern. He really was _concerned_ about me.

_How the hell could I have missed that?_

Closing my eyes, I pressed the palm of my good hand against my face at the realization. "Oh," I mumbled dumbly. "Scratch that. He _did_ say something about it." I blinked when I realized another thing. "Huh... come to think of it, he does that often."

Naturally, Tear was puzzled as to what I was talking about. She tilted her head to the side a bit. "What do you mean? Luke does what often?"

"Showing his concern for someone and then brushing it off by acting like his typical jerky self. Or give a transparent excuse, whichever came first," I clarified with a knowing smirk. "That kid... he did it for everyone. For me, for you, for Jade, obviously with Ion, he even did it to Mieu at one point back at Cheagle Woods."

"Hm, indeed..." Tear agreed after giving a nod. "Now that you pointed it out, honestly, I was rather surprised with how he acted towards me when I got wounded by that Oracle soldier. Before that, we've only argued with each other..."

"And you just totally blew him off when he asked if you were feeling well," I reminisced with a smirk.

She faltered a bit, looking unsure. "I-Is that a bad thing? I thought that I should just behave like normal... should I have thanked him for his concern?"

But I waved the idea off with a hand. "Nah. Ion does that all the time with him, and it only gets him flustered and embarrassed like heck."

Besides, it was kind of Luke's fault that Tear got injured in the first place. I'm not holding it against him or anything, nor did I look down on him for his error, because really? I'm not any better than him at all. I won't fault Luke or look down on him for his hesitance and fear of killing people. On the contrary, I actually like that about him, even when I still saw this whole adventure as a game. The fact that Luke forces himself to fight despite his true wishes shows how strong his resolve is and its own way.

Though I had killed two brothers, I still tried my best to forget about it. I still hated what I did. Don't get me wrong, I still would have done it again if time was repeated since my life was in danger but... it would still hurt. I would still hate it, loathe it, even.

I... I could understand the _reasons_ for one to kill. What I could _not _understand is the _apathy _of a person _when _they kill. You can ask me to kill, but you can't expect me to feel _nothing _about it. It hurts... that's why I try my best to push it to the back of my mind and move on.

That is also where Tear and Jade are different. I know that Tear felt something every time she kills a human being, even though she hid it behind a brave and stoic mask. But Jade...? I won't take back my fear of that man. He. Is. _Frightening_. _Even_ despite that smile and the sarcastic but jovial attitude.

I shook my head harshly to clear my thoughts.

_Again... why am I thinking about things like this again?_

"Is something wrong?" Tear asked, having seen me shake my head.

I pinched the bride of my nose with my good hand, squeezing my eyes shut. "Ugh... sorry, sorry. I'm... just... you know... thinking unpleasant thoughts again."

"Death," Tear stated with a knowing nod.

I was obviously shocked at her correct deduction but, at the same time, I was kind of relieved because it meant that I can be more open with my feelings easier since she might understand.

"Ugh... I'm sorry... it's just... today and... all these deaths..." I confessed with a heavy sigh, shifting about so that I was leaning back against the table. "I... I dunno... being surrounded by it and all this destruction made me think of it and... ugh... I'm getting depressed in my own thoughts."

"No one is asking you to force yourself to be happy after something like what happened earlier occurred," Tear pointed out, frowning and narrowing her eyes at me.

I ran a hand across my face wearily. "I just thought that if I stayed optimistic, then maybe people will feel better and be encouraged to do better getting through this disaster."

Tear's expression softened into one of understanding at my reason. Oh, guess I worded my previous statement wrong. "True, that kind of optimistic thinking will help in raising morale. Anise believes the same thing, too. But if your heart is not in it, you shouldn't force yourself too much for anyone's sake, I think."

"Hrn," was my only response to that. Seeing that I didn't want to talk about it any more, Tear deemed it fit to change the subject.

"Speaking of Anise, that reminds me." Tear suddenly had a look of interest in her face, causing me to blink at her. "Earlier, Luke said he was going to ask you about Tokunaga and how it could possibly work. Do you have any idea on that?"

Seizing the much lighter topic with eagerness, I enthusiastically repeated my made-up horror tale I told Luke earlier to her with a grin. Poor Tear had actually gone _pale_ around the end, and now she looked absolutely terrified. What made it more funny besides the fact that she actually _believed _me, was at how she was attempting to _try_ and look nonchalant (and failing rather badly) when it's pretty obvious what her true feelings were.

"Th-There's no way a tale like that is actually true," Tear declared a bit shakily after I was finished with my story. Poor dear... she still looked scared as hell despite her vain efforts to hide it. "There's also _no way _that Tokunaga is..." here she briefly shuddered, "what you claim it to be."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows at her. "Even though Jade himself had vouched for the validity of that story?"

"That's..." she squeaked, looking away. She attempted to hide her face from view using her long curtain of brown hair, probably aware of her own fear visible on her face. When I saw her do that, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She really looked rather... pitying when she's acting like that. I knew she was terrified of ghost stories, but _oh man,_ she seriously _does _get disturbed from them.

...Come to think of it... didn't she faint that one time in the game because of that?

_...Oh... oh dear..._

I sighed as I finally dropped my act and confessed, "Alright, you got me. I really did make it up on the spot, since Luke kept bugging me about my idea on how Tokunaga worked."

She was so quick as to turn to face me with wide eyes that her hair flew up a bit before settling down once more across her shoulders and flat against her back. "What? Then... the colonel..."

"Joined in one the lie just so he could mess around with Luke's head," I finished for her. "..._Again._"

The relief that washed across Tear's face was palpable, and I thought for sure that she would collapse with relief. Instead of that however, her relieved expression had turned into one of annoyance as she scowled at me.

"That wasn't funny... nor a kind thing to do." Clearly since she wasn't scared anymore, Tear was more quick into putting back on her usual no-nonsense mask back on her face to chastise me. "You should admit that you were lying to him."

"I couldn't help myself about making that story up," I said, shrugging. "Even if it was an idea, he wanted to know what I thought about Tokunaga. And he got really pushy when he was sure I had an idea, I really couldn't help myself. It's all in good fun, so no worries, right?"

Tear let out a sigh, shaking her head. "It's not good to spread around false stories like that, since people would believe them and get the wrong idea." She seemed like she wanted to say more, but I was so annoyed by what she just said that I cut her off.

"It's just Luke I'm having fun with. I'm not _spreading _anything," I protested, my voice rather clipped. I quickly tried to push my offended feelings that stirred from her assumption down the best I could. Did she really think that I'm the kind of person who would _spread_ lies around? I mean, _really!_ I tell _one_ little horror story for fun, and she's lecturing me about how I shouldn't _spread false stories? What the hell?_ There's a difference between pulling a person's leg, and spreading rumors!

Besides, don't all horror stories have to be told in a way as if they're real in order to make them more scary? I mean, look at the Slenderman myth! That thing never fails to give someone paranoia fuel because it's depicted in a way that makes it real, and not just a fake horror story that some guy made up and started in the internet, Not only that...

"I was going to tell Luke that I was just fooling around later anyway," I muttered sourly.

Apparently choosing to ignore my annoyance, Tear merely nodded to my statement. "Please do so," she said before noticeably pausing, as if listening for something. Her eyes narrowed. "Do you hear a commotion from outside?"

I blinked, giving my surroundings more ear. Now that she mentioned it, although it was muted due to the fact that we were indoors, I could hear yelling coming from the outside. "Uh, yeah, there is. Is there, is there a leftover monster or something?"

At the prospect of a monster attacking, Tear was on full alert as she grabbed her staff and stood up, quickly making her way outside. I also got up and, ignoring Tear's protests, rushed out of the building with my good hand hovering over one of my daggers tucked into a pocket of my pants in caution.

Fortunately, it turned out that we didn't need our weapons after all. After Tear and I had stepped out into the evening air, we saw that the commotion we heard was just a group of engineers speaking all over each other in loud voices as if trying to be heard from their fellow co-workers.

Facing the entire group with an annoyed-looking Anise standing protectively in front of him was Ion. It seemed that the group of engineers were trying to convince him to do something, but what, I could not tell since they were yelling all at once. I could see the men of our party- Luke, Jade and Guy- on the other side of the group, already in the process of making their way towards us.

"What's going on? What do all those guys want with Ion?" was the first question that Luke immediately asked when he and the other two had reached our sides. He was staring warily at the huge crowd present.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Tear answered, her brows furrowed. "Should we step in to intervene?"

"I don't think it's a riot of any kind. They're not acting violently," Guy noted, putting his two cents in. I noticed that Mieu was cradled protectively in the crook of his arm, probably to keep him from being accidentally trampled upon.

"It's not," someone confirmed as a new voice joined our group. When we turned to see who it was, I saw that it was the guy that I talked to earlier, Will.

"We're not rioting," Will repeated, looking a bit upset like we would ever think of them doing something like that. "Everyone just wanted him to go save the chief."

"Chief? You mean the head engineer that Arietta took?" Guy asked.

Will nodded as he fidgeted from where he stood, looking worried. "Sh-She said that the chief will be killed if the Fon Master and the person called Luke don't go so... we..." he trailed off, giving us an apologetic and somewhat guilty look. He missed the wince that Luke just had, who now also looked a bit guilty at the fact an innocent life could possibly be lost partly because of him.

"Everyone, _PIPE DOWN ALREADY!_" Anise shrieked loudly, finally fed up with all the simultaneous yelling from the group of engineers. Amazingly, the entire group settled down. Anise blew up some of her bangs from her flushed face. "Now, one at a time! How can you expect the Fon Master to even understand you if you keep talking all over each other like that? You-" she pointed at a random person at the forefront of the group she's facing, "-speak on behalf of your friends. State your business with the Fon Master more properly!"

The man she pointed out stepped forward, holding his hands out beseechingly to Ion as he started to make his- _their_- case heard. "Fon Master, if you would kindly recall earlier today, a man was taken away by a griffin for ransom. The man Arietta the Wild kidnapped is our maintenance chief! _Please_, Fon Master! You _have _to save the chief!"

"The chief faithfully upholds the Score!" another man behind him added, earning him an annoyed glare from Anise. "He's a devout follower of the Order of Lorelei. He was relieved when this year's birth Score stated that calamity would be avoided."

"_Please!_" the first man said again, his voice desperate. This prompted the other engineers to start up a mild ruckus again, until Ion raised an arm up straight into the air for silence.

Ion's face looked determined, and it was clear what decision he came to. "Alright," he stated, causing the entire group of engineers to start cheering and roaring in joy. Will left our side to join his friends and co-workers as they started giving Ion their thanks and well wishes.

"W-Wait, he doesn't plan on going alone with just Anise, is he?" Luke questioned, looking distressed.

"Looks like it," Guy responded with a nod. "He basically just promised them all that. I don't think there's turning back for him now."

"Fon Master Ion is also my responsibility," Jade reminded them. "Obviously, I will be accompanying them, don't you worry about that. Luke?"

"What?" the red-haired noble asked, looking uneasy. "What do you want from me?"

"Arietta's demand entails for you to come as well," Jade pointed out. "Surely, you won't be so cold-hearted to risk the man's life by refusing to come along, would you?"

"He's got nothing to do with me!" Luke protested, but he looked torn. It was clear he half-wanted to go, but is still not completely willing to actually do so for whatever reasons he may have in his mind. "If I go, Arietta will kill _me!_"

Tear gave the noble an unpleasant glare in response to that, while Jade merely shrugged. "As you wish. I doubt you will have the same answer after a few minutes anyway," he said knowingly before walking away from our group to be by Ion's side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luke demanded as he stomped after that brunet male. The rest of us exchanged looks before following after them just as the last few engineers were giving their thanks to Ion, Will included, who was in the middle of apologizing to Ion for the scene his co-workers' caused.

"I'm so sorry we had to-" Will suddenly hiccupped, proof of his nervousness, "-had to make a scene. I-I know it may be a bit _-hic-_much, but...!" He visibly swallowed, clearly trying to keep his hiccups under control. Will looked dejected as he continued, "But the chief has kids and a wife and... and he's a good man. He taught us a lot and we... we can't _just-!_" Will was cut off, both by Ion's raised and by another one of his own hiccups.

I tilted my head slightly, wondering if his hiccups were _because _he's nervous, or if he was just this close to crying. He certainly _looked_ upset enough. Heck, most of the other engineers are once I got a good look at them. Arietta had clearly taken a good friend from them.

"It's alright. I understand," Ion said kindly with a soft smile. The engineers remaining then murmured apologies of their own, along with more of their thanks occasionally thrown into the mix. "Don't worry," Ion continued. "We'll bring him back safely."

Jade placed a hand on Ion's shoulder, looking down at him with a frown. "Are you sure?" he asked.

The green-haired boy nodded, looking up at him. "Arietta told me to come."

"I agree with Ion," Tear said, causing Luke to turn to stare at her incredulously.

"And you called _me_ soft," he accused.

The melodist shook her head. "If we abandon one the Score has foretold will be saved from calamity, we will be ignoring the Score. That would go against Yulia's teachings. And..." she trailed off.

"And...?" Luke pressed.

But Tear shook her head once again, looking away. "...Never mind."

"It is true that the Score should be upheld..." Jade confirmed when he noticed that Luke seemed ready to blow up at our current healer again, effectively keeping the young noble a reason for not doing so. Ticked, Luke only let out a huff and looked away as well, his arms crossed.

"Um, I think we should go to Choral Castle, too," Anise said hesitantly, scratching her cheek as she kept her gaze low.

"If you're going to Choral Castle, I'll go with you," Guy interjected, drawing a shocked look from Luke. Seeing this, he explained, "There's something there I'd like to investigate."

"Arietta's female, you know," Jade said teasingly, poking fun at Guy's phobia.

Said blond grimaced in fear. "D-Don't remind me!"

Mieu looked up from his place in the crook of Guy's arm. "Are you going too, Master?" he inquired curiously.

Luke snorted in disdain. "...No way am I going. Even Master Van _said_ we didn't have to."

"Arietta said for you to come as well," Ion reminded him gently.

Realizing that the red-haired boy with us is indeed the one called Luke that Arietta had asked for, one of the engineers stepped forward and grabbed Luke by the shoulders desperately, startling him. "Please don't abandon the chief! He has a family in Baticul!" he pleaded.

Annnd that was the last push that Luke needed for his stubbornness of the issue to break completely.

Luke quickly shoved his hands off his shoulders and pushed him back, exclaiming petulantly, "Alright, alright! I'll go! Are you happy now?" he made a show of sighing loudly. "Why do I have to bother with this...?"

Luke's displeasure passed completely over the man's head as a look of relief took over his face. "Th-Thank you so much!"

"Choral Castle is southwest of here, along the coast," another engineer piped up. "Please take care."

"Well, you heard him," Jade said as all the engineers left to return to their work. "Shall we get going tomorrow?"

Luke raised an eyebrow at the older male. "I thought you were against going to Choral Castle."

Smiling, Jade raised his arms up in a shrug as he cheerfully replied, "Nope! Either way's fine by me."

Luke jerked back, his eyebrows raised high. "What the..?" he started, but then sighed in defeat. "I don't get you at all..."

Clicking his tongue, he looked away grumpily as he started with his usual complaints. "But man...! This means we have to _walk_ again! We're actually going to be going _against _what Master Van told us to do. Why can't you guys just trust him to deal with Arietta alone? Give him five seconds top, and I'm sure he can knock her down in one hit! We'll just be wasting our time since he'll have everything under control by the time we get there!"

"Enough," Tear reprimanded him curtly. "You already promised that you would go. You can't go back on your word, Luke."

"It doesn't mean I have to _like_ it though!" he shot back heatedly. Reaching a hand to the back of his head, he grabbed a fistful of red hair as he usually does whenever he gets annoyed. He'd always messed with his hair one way or another. In the past few weeks, I've noticed that Luke treats his long hair as an outlet for all his rage and annoyance if Mieu's not the cause of them, otherwise he would have no problems hitting the cheagle.

I've noted that the more pissed Luke is, the more violently he would treat his hair. It's a good way of gauging how high his anger was. Luke's mood is, therefore, the most obvious to me compared to the rest the group... and I'm sure they all probably felt the same way. We would all know when to back off and give him time to cool down.

Huh... maybe that's the reason he grew his hair out to be that long?

Luke continued to grumble underneath his breath as he removed himself from the group and headed towards rest facility that Tear and I were in earlier, slamming the door behind him as he entered.

Shaking his head, Jade turned to look out at the horizon. "I think it would be best if we leave as early as possible tomorrow. So be prepared to leave at dawn. Be sure to get plenty of rest... well, I can imagine how tired you all are, either way. It's been a long and strenuous day."

Tear nodded, folding her arms. "Agreed. Let's not push the Fon Master too hard by leaving immediately. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'll go check on the wounded."

"Again? You sure work hard, Tear," Guy remarked. Smiling, he then held a hand out. "Well, not that's always a bad thing. I feel inspired just watching you. But be sure not to push yourself too hard either, alright?"

"Thank you, but I'm perfectly fine," she assured him, a faint blush on her face. She quickly walked away, probably to try and keep it hidden from us. Haha, Guy's offhanded compliments _always _works!

"And I suppose I should tell the young master our plan, less he decides to go to bed late," Jade said in a melodramatic way as he, too, left with a loud sigh.

"_Stupid Gloomietta!_" Anise boomed as soon as she was sure that Jade was out of earshot. I felt my shoulders jolt in surprise as Guy jumped a bit (almost dropping Mieu in the process), and Ion only had the widening of his eyes as his reaction to her outburst. "If she would just mind her own business, we would have been on our merry way to Kimlasca by now, and _finally_ get some peace between the two nations!"

Inhaling sharply, a red-faced Anise held clenched fists in front of her chest as she blew some hair out of her eyes in frustration. "But _no~! _For someone who claims to care about Ion, she's not only ignoring what _he_ wants, but is also slowing the process of it!" She stomped a foot to the ground. That's _not_ how it works, Gloomietta!"

Guy let out a sigh as he shifted from one foot to the other. "I could kind of see where she's coming from, though," he admitted. "The mother that she loves was recently killed, and she's still heartbroken about it. So her mind's so filled with thoughts of avenging her family that she's willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen."

His green eyes widened in alarm and he scrambled away when Anise ran up to him, dropping Mieu in the process. The cheagle let out a startled sound when he landed on his rear.

"But it's not Luke or the other's faults!" she insisted, conveniently choosing to ignore his violent tremblings and his backpedaling until he's a good fifteen feet or so away from each other.

She let out an irritated-filled sigh, shaking her head in annoyance. "She's just taking things out on them! She _never_ sees the ones _she_ likes at fault whenever something that she doesn't like happens! She never gets her facts straight! I mean, look, she hates _me_ for being Ion's main guardian despite _Ion_ picking me himself! It's the same with what happened in Cheagle Woods! _Her_ mom's the one that attacked for no good reason! Any idiot can tell that what they did is just self-defense!"

"Arietta... makes it sound like it's the other way around," I agreed as I crossed my arms after a second of hesitation. "I... um... I won't say we're not guilty of anything, 'cause we're really not, so I can get her point of view there, but..." I bit my lip, "is it... is it _really_ necessary to kill innocents _just_ to get to us? Like what she did today?"

"Actually, she said it was Asch who wanted it done," Ion pointed out, probably in an attempt to lessen Arietta's faults. I never did understand why Ion's always talks to and about her with kindness or consideration. The game never did delve into his relationship with her. Perhaps it's just him being the normally nice guy he is but... I don't know...

Still, whatever his reasons, I can't say that I agree with him regarding the pink-haired girl. "She went ahead with killing people by letting her monsters loose on them though. If all she wanted was a reason for you and Luke to go to Choral Castle, why not just kidnap the head engineer and be done with it?" I questioned. "Or, hell, maybe just take away a group f them if it's too hard. I don't doubt they have a cage or something else like that ready. Why willingly choose a massacre instead?"

Anise pointed at me with a finger, looking like she more or less shared the same sentiments as me. "Exactly! She acts like she's _such_ a victim, but she's just as bad as she accuses us to be, if not worse! She's just being a bully again!"

Wide-eyed, I looked over to Anise after hearing her last statement. What did she mean by 'again'?

Guy noticed it as well, because he was also staring at Anise with something akin to befuddlement. "'Again'...?"

Anise's brown eyes widened when she realized what she let slip in the heat of the moment, looking between the both of us in shock. Keeping her arms straight by her sides, she looked away with narrowed eyes.

"I don't hate her for no reason, you know," she muttered darkly, her tone leaving no room for protests. Her hands clenched into fists as she shook her head sharply. "No. Forget about it. Seriously. Never mind. It's all stupid, anyway."

I exchanged an unconvinced look with Guy, but we both wordlessly decided to let the matter drop as Anise wanted, less we make her upset. Besides, the answer that we wanted seemed to be pretty obvious anyway.

Ion winced and guiltily gave his guardian an apologetic look. "Anise, about that, I'm-"

Anise quickly cut him off with a waved hand, scowling. "I know, I know. Don't apologize to me again about that, Ion. If anyone needs to apologize to not just me, but to everyone she caused trouble for, it's Gloomietta the Whiny." Despite her now sour mood, there was no malice in her words except for when she said her degrading name for Arietta.

An awkward silence followed after that. I did not know what to say, but I didn't want to _not_ do anything either. Is there anything I can do for Anise at the moment? Would a comforting hand on the shoulder be too much? Sure, we got along well during the past week and the half or so, but since it's clear she wanted the current matter to drop, would that be overdoing it a bit?

My thoughts seemed to show on my face because as I considered the pros and cons of the gesture, Anise gave me a smirk that's probably meant to be both reassuring and teasing. And her happy-go-lucky attitude was back.

"Don't give me that look, Sammy," she chastised lightly, her smirk growing. "Don't forget, I might probably have the chance to get back at her at Choral Castle for everything she's done. I've been wanting to slap some sense into her for a long time now, and now that I finally got the chance to do it, I'm gonna _do it!_" For emphasis on her last words, she punched a fist into an open palm, still wearing that eager smirk of hers and making Guy shudder.

"U-Using Tokunaga?" he asked fretfully.

"I'm just being even, since she would obviously have her monsters by her side." The brunette girl shrugged. "Sorry Ion, but you can't say she doesn't deserve some discipline for the things she did."

The Fon Master's shoulders slumped in resignation. "I know I can't stop you or the others if you engage in a fight with her, but please don't hurt her too much, Anise," Ion pleaded. "Truthfully, I don't want anyone to fight her at all, but considering the circumstances this time around, I have a feeling that it can't be helped. I'll talk to her more properly once we're finished with everything."

"Even if you tell her to not to, I don't think you can stop Anise anyway. Feels like there's too much bad blood in between the both of them," Guy noted to Ion with a solemn expression. "Also, if by chance we let her go, I don't think Arietta will stop here anyway. When you think about it that way, it's probably best that we stop her now, or more problems will happen."

"You got that right!" Anise exclaimed, fire burning within her brown eyes. "I won't forgive you for all this, Gloomietta!"

* * *

I let out a sigh of contentment as I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself as I walked over to the sink, glad that I was somehow successful in not getting my cast wet this time. It was strange and uncomfortable washing myself with just my left arm while my right arm is held out of the way of the shower spray. But I managed.

Now... to the issue of brushing my teeth with my left hand. I frowned at the though. _This... is going to be a problem..._ Obviously, I had no experience whatsoever with brushing my teeth with my left hand before. Just thinking about doing it feels weird already.

Drat, I guess it can't be helped. I shouldn't be _that _hard, right?

...

_...Yeah, this definitely feels weird. But hey, it's not as bad as I thought it'd be, _I decided as I brushed my teeth, staring lazily at my own reflection in the mirror.

Oh yeah, speaking of which, did I mention that before we left St. Binah back then, I stole some stuff from the inn's bathroom? I did that because there is _no way _I'll be traveling for who-knows-how-long unwashed. The only time I can clean myself is any time we would stumble upon an inn, but I didn't want to rely on those lucky breaks. Especially when I would get mud or monster blood on me every single time we fight, an even when I start to smell from said blood mixed with my own sweat.

Only _if _we were given a lucky break we would stumble upon a large pool of water attached to a stream. When Luke had asked my unasked question about it, a stream is necessary because we need the dirty water to wash away from not just when we bathe, but when we washed our clothes and dishes as well. Even then, when we _do_ find something like that, there's still the issue of the lack of _privacy_ among all of us. Obviously, neither the guys or us girls can just strip off of our clothes wherever and whenever we could (Except Luke, but that's a funny story for another time). If we could, then what should we wear while we wait for our washed clothes to dry?

Point being... I knew I was being a bitch by stealing (again), but I just couldn't help myself. I'm far too used to be able to shower every day at any time I want. I never knew I could lose that privilege, and now that I did, I wasn't so eager to let it go.

Huh... I sounded spoiled. Maybe I am.

Still, though I do feel bad for stealing from the inn, I also didn't regret it. Unless I mooched off of someone (something that I would absolutely _loathe_ to do), I don't have a stable enough income that I should spend it on whatever items I may need. I need to save myself every coin whenever I can.

After I was finished with washing out my mouth, I slipped on the bathrobe (another thing I took from St. Binah's inn) I left by the sink and walked out of the bathroom, looking over to my just-washed clothes that were laid out to dry on a chair. I sighed: I _really _need a second pair of clothes... maybe I'll get something at Chesedonia. Being the city of trade, it's bound to have a ton of things for sale.

I jumped when there was a knock on the door.

"Samantha, are you there?" It was Jade, surprisingly. Out of all people to be at the door right now, I didn't expect it to be him. "I have something I need to discuss with you. May I enter?"

I frowned at the door, self-consciously hugging myself with my arms even though I have already locked the door earlier.

"I'm not decent," I called out. "Can you come later?"

"I'm afraid not," came the unexpected reply, making me blink in surprise. "It's important, and I'd rather talk about it with you alone." A beat. "And I assure you that I have no interest in underaged girls such as yourself."

I felt my eyebrow twitch. "It may not be a big deal to you, but it is to _me._ I'm not comfortable with that kind of thing. Later, Jade."

There was silence from the other side of the door. I would have assumed that he left, but I didn't hear any footsteps walking away from the room.

What I _did_ hear however- to my shocked horror- was a clear _click _of the door's lock being released. Not even a second has passed before the door swung open to reveal Jade standing behind it, his passport held up with two fingers. It was obvious that Jade had slid his passport into the crack of the door to undo the lock. A simple but effective trick, considering the locks in these facilities are nothing complicated.

Loudly shrieking in embarrassment, I bolted straight back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut, my face hot.

_"**JAAAADE!** I_ **_told _**_you I'm not **fucking** decent! _You can't just- _FUCK!_" I roared in pure frustration. "You fucking pervert! Get _OUT_ already!"

"Now now," I heard him sing annoyingly, causing my anger to spike. Really, only _he _would find other's discomfort amusing, that uncouth man! "It's rather rude to kick out a guest after you had already invited them in."

"Invited them in-" I repeated incredulously, choking midway. I felt my face grow even hotter. "Invited guest _my ass!_ You just _strolled _on in after-!"

"That's enough of your temper now," he interrupted sharply. Suddenly, it was gone. All the humor and amusement that was there just seconds ago were gone, as if they weren't even there in the first place. His tone was now curt and cold: allowing no more room for nonsense.

_What...? Did his personality just perform a one-eighty degree turn? _I was astounded.

In that eerily calm voice, he continued, "I'll get to the point if this bothers you that much. However, I would prefer if you come out. What I wanted to discuss with you needs to be done face-to-face. Now, would you mind." His last sentence was worded more like an order than a question...

I winced to myself from the tone he just used. Despite the fact that I tried to convince myself that I had the _right_ to be angry in this situation, something in Jade's voice had zapped all the anger out of me. And suddenly, in its place, I was left with a feeling of dread and uneasiness.

For some reason, I got a bad feeling about this.

A very, _very_ bad feeling...

My hands tingling with nerves, I opened the bathroom door slightly so I could peek out into the bedroom. There, I saw Jade with his back to the door, staring at... my wet clothes? Even my red slippers were clutched in one of his hands.

Fuck... I forgot that my clothes were still outside. When Jade came in, in my panic, I didn't even think about grabbing them as I ran into the bathroom. Meaning, I can't hide in here forever in order to protect my decency, as the prospect of a man seeing my clothes and undergarments (Oh, God, _please_ don't let him see my undergarments! I would **_die!_**) is just as bad. And Jade can be stubborn when he wants to be.

With a heavy groan in my head, I inhaled and rolled my eyes skywards befor pushing the door open wider in order to step out. As I did so, I noticed that Jade had shut the bedroom door, something that I am both grateful and uneasy about. Grateful, because no one could look into the room and witness this awkward and innuendo-filled scene and uneasy because I'm now alone in a room clad in nothing but a bathrobe with a man.

Even though I'd like to be able to trust Jade not to be _that _kind of person, I still feel defenseless the way I am right now. This is _not_ the kind of scenario any woman would like to befall upon her.

"What?" I finally asked wearily, keeping my arms crossed tight against my chest. Might as well get this over with so he would leave faster. "What do you want to talk about? And could you... could you _please_ get away from there? It's _embarrassing_..."

Thankfully, he obliged: turning to face me and making my face grow hotter under the scrutiny of his piercing red eyes. He did not release my slippers however. He looked down at them and flipped them over in his hands once before lifting his gaze up to look at me again. I shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

And then... and then... and it was then that I finally understood why I had that bad feeling when he said:

"Tell me where China is located."

Those six simple words... those six words alone made all the feelings in my leg leave through out the window and nearly causing me to fall to my knees right then and there.

_What...? How-? _

How in the world did he _know? _I stared at Jade's unreadable expression, my heart hammering quickly within my chest. I swallowed- when did my throat go dry?- and opened my mouth to say something, but no words would come, and I closed it again: feeling helpless and starting to panic.

Could Jade read English? Can that even be _possible?_

Wait, no... of course he could. I don't know _how_ or since _when_... but he showed that he could read English just now. _No! Maybe it's not even the country China! Maybe he just meant some ordinary china! Why he would is irrelevant! _One part of my mind tried, wanting to deny the possible truth.

Before I could even voice out the first question that I could think of, Jade started to speak again before I could.

"Perhaps I had confused you," he said calmly, holding up my slippers before placing them back down. "I meant the place called China where your slippers were imported from. If you don't know, how about... Indonesia? That's where your shirt was originally made, wasn't it?" He paused, staring me down and effectively making me feel small. "Oh, forgive me. I just realized that I'm not as interested as that as much I am about where you truly came from."

Before I could even try to defend myself, Jade went for the killing blow. "Your home. The place that could not be found on any map of Auldrant. Tell me about the entirely different world where you came from, Samantha Loy."

It felt like I just got punched right in the stomach with an heavy iron-clad fist. I choked on thin air, finding it hard to breathe normally all of the sudden as I felt all the blood drain away from my face. Losing strength, I stumbled close to the closest wall and leaned against it.

I finally found my voice. "Wh-What are you talking about?" I rasped out, barking out a forced laugh. "You... you've lost it, Jade."

"Perhaps I am with the conclusion I've reached to," he replied, still in that calm voice. With his free hand, he pushed up his glasses. "But you know when they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Your reaction told me all that I needed to know."

"I-I'm just in shock, idiot!" I lied vehemently. "P-Proof then! Where's your proof? You got something tangible to prove your claim with?"

Jade let out a tired sigh, as if not wanting to explain his reasons but knowing he has to. "Very well. I'll indulge you if you still insist on denying it."

He pulled out a piece of paper from one of his pockets. "Remember this?" he asked, stepping forward to me and holding it out for me to see. I only needed to take one look at the indecipherable scribblings before shaking my head. Jade raised an eyebrow at me. "It's Anise's receipt for the dinner we had back at Kaitzur. The one I wanted you to check for me. You made quite the irked face when I asked you to do so."

"Because it's stupid," I responded sourly. "I don't think you're as blind as you portray yourself to be without your glasses, Jade. You would be bumping into walls otherwise."

"True, I can see just fine without my glasses," he admitted coolly. "But you remember this, correct? It is a cooking recipe, correct?"

"Of course."

He took a step back, staring down at me. "It is indeed the same one. But... forgive me. I lied. It's not a recipe. It's a page I ripped out from a trainee instruction book from the Tartarus."

I gaped at him incredulously. "You can't read the Fonic Alphabet, can you," he stated more than asked.

"So what?" I barked, looking away. "So I'm illiterate. There, happy? But that has nothing to do-"

"On the contrary, it has everything to do with you not being from Auldrant," he cut me off as he pulled another paper from his pocket. "This one, I'm sure you'll recognize for sure this time. I'll have to ask you to forgive me again, since I took it from your bag while you were busy conversing with the Fon Master and the others earlier."

"You went through my stuff?" I fumed as the paper was handed to me. I looked down at it, and felt my eyes widen despite myself.

It's the list I made for converting the letters of the Fonic Alphabet to the English alphabet. I've been working on it since after Mieu's spelling test back in Kaitzur.

"Truth be told, I was interested in this ever since the first time I saw you writing away in it," Jade admitted. "For someone to seems be illiterate, you seem to have no difficulty when you wrote in this paper. That confused me a bit until I read this list." He gave me a look. "Also, when I saw those little notes on the side in your home alphabet, I noticed that you have a very neat and tidy print. A big difference whenever you try to write in the Fonic language."

He then tilted his chin in the direction of my clothes. "The tags on your clothes and the inscriptions in your slippers are another supportive proof of my claim when I checked just now. The fact that you didn't deny that I was correct at what they said is another thing."

"How can you even read them?" I asked. I was shocked. I thought I was careful but... _not careful enough, obviously. _Jade has all the important in his hands, and now that he had chosen to show them to me, I was impressed. Impressed... and scared. I don't know what I could say to deflect his valid explanations.

Jade waved my list in front of my face by his way of explanation. "Your list was very helpful. Though it can indeed help someone not from Auldrant the Fonic Alphabet, the same could be said for the other way around as well. For getting the entire thing accurate, you have my praise for that. I've more or less memorized your home alphabet the first time I've read it. And, again, the fact that you didn't deny that I was correct when I mentioned both China and Indonesia more or less confirms that I've grasped it well."

I gaped at him in shock, before I was once again pinned in place by those red eyes of his.

"Now, are you going to deny it any further? And don't you dare claim that China and Indonesia are shops, because no one would have such a horrified expression like that one you made earlier if that were true. Nor would they try to enthusiastically keep it hidden for this long. And I've never in my life seen the alphabets you used until I saw your list for the first time," he finished.

Dammit! I was going to go for that as a desperate last attempt, too...!

Under his stern piercing gaze, which was further intensified by the deep frown on his face, it felt I could no longer keep anything hidden from him. He knew the truth, and had all the evidence to back his claim up.

And... I didn't want to fight any more... I'm half-naked, I want to cry and scream with frustration, I felt emotionally drained from his interrogation, and I have nothing else to defend myself with without looking like I'm grasping for straws. If there was, it's sure not coming to me at the moment...

My shoulders slumping in defeat, I let out a heavy sigh as I kept my head down. I tried my best to hold my tears back. _No... I'm more mature than this, dammit! This can be handled rationally! I will be in control of myself, at the very least!_

"Okay..." I admitted, all of my figurative chains falling. "Okay... you... you got me." I licked my lips, just realizing how dry they were. "I'm... yeah... not from... from Auldrant."

"So you finally confess," Jade murmured. His tone was as unreadable as it was from the start of this conversation. "My assumptions are true, then?"

"Yeah... you got it," I muttered, rubbing an arm. "I... I'm from-" I hesitated: is there really no other way to hide the truth? No... it's too late now, I think.

Especially if it's Jade who figured it out. He would know I'm lying. Ever since from the beginning, even I'm aware that it's impossible to hide from him. How shameful... this early in our adventure, and he already knew. I'm more careless than I thought.

He figured it out.

And he's sticking to it unless proven wrong. Something which I doubt I could do now. He won this chessboard battle of ours.

I took in a deep breath and let it out as another sigh. "Earth. I'm... where I came from. It's called Earth."

"Another world, then?" he asked, probably more wanting to hear the truth straight from the horse's mouth itself than out of doubt.

"Another world," I confirmed, gripping an arm tighter. "It's... crazy, I know."

"I would have believed so too, if the evidence didn't prove otherwise," Jade stated, his arms folded. "Take a seat. This will be a long conversation, no doubt."

Numbly, I nodded, feeling an itch of gratefulness towards him. He stepped back as I walked pass him, carefully taking a seat of the edge of one of the bed's and making sure he wouldn't see anything indecent. Jade, on the other hand, chose to stand against a wall a good distance away from me. Far enough probably not to feel uncomfortable, but close enough to see my face clearly.

**_Now_**_ he chooses to be somewhat polite, _a childish, more bitter part of my mind snarled sarcastically. I tucked the thought away. This is not the time for sarcasm. In retrospect, I should admire and respect Jade for zeroing in on the truth so quickly. But for now...

"Let me ask you this first," Jade started. "How did you arrive to Auldrant?"

"...That's even crazier," I confessed, rubbing the back of my neck. "I don't know how it happened, exactly. I was at home, right? I was just minding my own business when my dogs started barking. When I went out to check on them, something came down on me from above and knocked me out unconscious."

Thinking about it now… that was _clearly_ Shio pretty much kidnapping me from home and bringing me here. The dogs were barking because they believed that she was a thief.

I saw Jade's eyes widen by an inch, probably the closest to genuine surprise I've seen him yet. "Just like that?"

"Yeah... that's... that's it, actually," I lied with a nod. "I don't understand it, either."

I'm not sure if I should tell Jade about Shio yet, even though she more or less admitted that she was the one who brought me here for reasons I've yet to understand. For now, maybe it's a good idea not to tell him about her, since I don't get her at all.

"I see," was all that Jade said, and I looked at him in surprise.

"What? You believe me?" I asked incredulously.

"You say you passed out in your home, but woke up in Cheagle Woods, correct?" At my nod, he continued. "That was how Ion found you. Your testimony matches up to his that much, so I'm inclined to believe it as the truth. Afterwards, you went with him, Luke and Tear to face the liger queen?"

"Yeah," I confirmed once more. "When he found me, that was the first time I arrived to Auldrant."

"And that explains your lack of supplies and weapon," Jade stated with a nod. "About the story you gave, while being robbed is a strong possibility that could occur at any time, especially to those weak and inexperienced, the only point I found odd was how you had no weapons of your own at the time. I find it doubtful that even a person traveling for the first time would put their only form of protection away in their bag instead of on their person. At the very least, you should have had your weapons with you."

I could only make a sound of agreement, feeling a bit embarrassed. "W-Well... I _did_ make it up on the fly. I mean, come_ on_ Jade, if I told you the truth from the get-go-"

"We would not have believed you, and would have believed that you are a few screws loose in the head," Jade finished for me with another nod. "And we would have. I can understand your hesitation there. No doubt anyone else would have done the same. Does your world have fonons?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Earth doesn't have fonons. Or monsters, for that matter. Unless someone would go out of their way into a jungle or a swamp, which they won't since we have a lot of public transport, then they won't have any problems with wild animals. So we don't have artes of any kind, much less magic."

I tilted my head up to the side a bit. "Actually, if you even claim to have magic or powers or special abilities, people will think you're either lying through your teeth, or crazy. It's like that. It's... taboo, you could say. And unless they're soldiers, people don't even fight, either. Not with weapons, anyway. And it's even illegal to possess a gun unless you have a license."

"Sounds like a peaceful world," Jade remarked, causing me to scoff loudly.

"I wouldn't say 'peaceful'," I said dryly, rolling my eyes. "It's not bad, but we have our own problems too. Some countries still has wars going on last time I checked. Pollution, overpopulation, political issues... the works." I shrugged. "Buuut I guess it has its good points too, so I shouldn't complain."

"Fair enough," he said, pushing up his glasses. "Does your world have its own Score as well?"

"No, we don't have a Score," I answered. I then remembered something, and my eyes widened. "Well, not like the one _here_, at least. Um, we have religion too. But it's up to people whether or not they want to follow, um, the bible."

"The bible?" he repeated, looking interested.

"Well..." I scratched my head in thought. "Um, some people believe that a God is watching over all of us. The more strict followers would attend Church and live their lives according to the bible. The bible is seen as a holy book with God's teachings written in it."

"It's not mandatory?" he asked, to which I shook my head to.

"Like I said, it's up to a person how much they want to follow," I replied. "Um, like me for example. I believe in God, but I don't consider myself strict enough to attend church or force my claims down other people's throat. The are also people who don't even believe in God back home. Atheists." I licked my lips. "Um, but your Score here... it's very strict. It's basically a... 'do as the Score tells you to do or be at fault for screwing humanity over' kind of thing to me, no offense. It's not like that back home, but it _does _remind me of the stricter followers of God."

"No offense taken," he said, his eyebrows raised slightly in intrigue. "I must say, listening to all this explains a lot about your behavior about certain things."

I only sighed, giving him a shrug. "Well, now you know."

Jade tilted his head slightly to the side. "On a more personal level, tell me about your family. I'm sure you're not an orphan now. Who is your father?"

"My family?" I blinked. "Eh, nothing glamorous if that's what you're thinking. My dad is the boss of a construction firm. My mom's just a housewife. She just sits around, naps and watches TV all day- uh, I'll explain that later," I quickly added when I saw his eyebrows pinch in mild confusion when I mentioned the TV part. "Anyway, my younger sister and I are just your regular high-school students. Rest of my family lives in another country. Don't see them unless it's summer vacation."

"I see." Jade stared at me, and I made sure to keep my crossed arms tight against my chest and my legs stuck together to avoid flashing him by accident. "...Is there anything else I need to know about? Something that would affect us and our journey?"

I looked away, biting my lip in thought.

Well, this is it. This is my chance to reveal that everything is a game and that I'm aware of everything that would happen later on. The only thing is... I don't _want_ to.

No. Never ever. Not if I can help it.

I know that... if _I _was told I was a fictional character, that my existence was a lie and my future, thoughts and actions were all predetermined from the start _just for the sake of **entertainment purposes**_, then I... I wouldn't take it well. At _all._ I know for sure I'll fall into a depression, questioning my life, my meaning of existence.

Who am I to give them thoughts and emotions like that? Doing something like that... feels so... so _arrogant: _informing them that everyone's existence except my own is just a lie. And... they'll hate me for that, won't they?

I've already accepted long ago that this is not a game anymore. These people are just as real as I am. And though I've only known them for a few weeks, to me, it felt like I've known them _much_ longer than that. I won't even deny that I see them as friends. Luke and Ion's pure-heartedness, Tear and her matronly concern, Guy and his empathetic kindness, Anise and Mieu's social cheerfulness... even Jade and his hidden desire to protect and look out for everyone. Sure, they have their faults, but doesn't everyone?

And... it would be sad... so so sad... even to me, to now see them as people who have never existed in the first place. Verbally acknowledging them as fictional characters feels the same as doing that.

_No..._

Even if I'm cornered like this again, even if they see me as crazy, even if they're aware I'm lying about it, even if they don't trust me for hiding it...

I'm taking that terrible truth to the _grave_ with me.

_Sorry Jade, but you won't be getting that one truth out of me. The impact after hearing about it is **nothing** compared to knowing about me coming from Earth._

Unable to help myself, I laughed, covering my face with my hand and noticing Jade tense from the corner of the vision.

_God, I'm so pathetic..._

It shouldn't be this big of a deal, but it is. Oh well... At least I know _why _I'm feeling this way. And I'm betting that Shio knows as well.

I wiped at my eyes with a hand, just as my chuckles had subsided. "Sorry. Just thinking of something I didn't like."

"I'm assuming it would affect us directly?" Jade asked, not relaxing in the slightest bit, I noticed. I guess me chuckling put him on edge more than I thought. And considering his last question...

I opened my about, ready to tell him that it was nothing and I have nothing else to hide, I froze when I suddenly remembered one certain thing.

Akzeriuth.

At least a thousand lives would be lost if no one does something about it. Since I'm aware of its imminent destruction, should I really be hiding about it? The only problem is, I don't know how, without telling the full truth-

I paused at that thought.

_Full truth... what about half truths?_

An idea came to me then, sudden and unexpected. It's stupid. It's really really stupid, probably a bit hypocritical of me considering what I had just promised to myself and won't work out that well, but... it's the only way I could have a chance at saving all those innocent people without denying anyone's meaning of existence.

"I... um... Jade..." I started, covering my mouth with one hand as my heart started to beat faster. "Um... there _is_ one thing." I had his full attention now. His eyes were straight on my and his mouth set in a firm line.

"Um... I..." This is it. The start of a long lie that I will have to hold up till the end of this adventure. _God, my stomach... think I'm going to be sick..._

"I... I..." I licked my lips nervously, swallowed, and then forced myself to at least look up at his face or else he wouldn't buy it. "I can... um... see... the future."

And like that, it's out. No way to take it back now. Telling something that big can either make things better or worse for me- for all of of us.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Huh... I guess he can be genuinely surprised after all. But unlike my revelation about Earth, he wasn't expecting to hear about something like this.

"_What?" _he asked sharply. "Didn't you say earlier that Earthians have no special abilities?"

"Earthlings," I corrected weakly.

I knew this wasn't going to be easy... already I could feel my stomach flipping in over itself as I start to have doubts about my own plan. No... I need to push on!

"And, er, funny thing, I could never see the future back on Earth. But when I'm here in Auldrant," I took in a deep breath, "I... suddenly know. I... get flashes of when big important things are going to happen. Oh, and not just that, but I would also get flashes on insight on certain information of this world. I can't explain it..."

Jade's face was as unreadable as ever. I can't fathom what he could be thinking about at all. Does he call bullshit on my lie, or is he considering what I said at least?

When he spoke again after a pregnant pause, his tone was one of cool neutrality.

"If this is true... then tell me what prediction has come true so far that would convince me that you're not lying."

"The attack on the Tartarus," I answered immediately, keeping my gaze on him. "While I was onboard the Tartarus I... got the image of it being attacked by griffins and soldiers. That was why I stole those-" I motioned towards my weapons on a table, "daggers. I wanted to be able to defend myself. Luke's wooden sword won't help me much in that situation."

"Is that all?" Again, I can't read his tone. I searched through my mind for another incident where I had put my meta-knowledge to use while having proof to back it up, but I found nothing else.

"So far, yeah," I said. Having a feeling that he won't choose to believe me, I quickly added, "B-But! It's the truth! If you want more proof, I can tell you about one of my vision that will happen in the near future. If that came true, then you can decide if I'm lying or not."

Jade raised an eyebrow at me, and I once again cursed his perfect stoic mask since I can't even name the look he had in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he gave me a nod. "Very well. If something occurs exactly as you predicted it to be, I will feel inclined to believe you, at the very least."

"Okay," I said breathlessly. "At Choral Castle, somewhere along the way, Luke will be kidnapped and taken away from the group. They will put him in some kind of huge machine that you will recognize and be shocked to see."

The brunet male closed his eyes, seemingly in thought as another moment of silence followed. Then, he asked, "Just to make sure, tell me exactly what is that machine and tell me what they did to Luke."

"Um..." Should I tell him? I guess I should. If I wanted him to believe me, and be an ally for Akzeriuth, then even if he's skeptical of me, at least he will _help._

"It's... it's a machine related to fomicry." I paused when I saw him inhale sharply. "It... um... they just wanted to open Luke's fon-slots with it."

"Does Asch the Bloody has anything to do with it?" he questioned, his eyes still shut.

...Ah, I get it. He's testing me to see how much I really know. And if what I claim will happen come true, then there will be no other doubt about it. At least... that's what I thought.

"Asch is..." I hesitated, then pressed myself to carry on, though that doesn't mean I'm comfortable with doing so. "He's... Luke's... um... original. And he's... um, his... replica. They wanted Luke's fon-slots open so Asch could telepathically connect to him."

The Necromancer nodded, turning his head away and finally opening his eyes. For some reason, I'm getting the vibe that this was the end of the conversation.

I let out a breath. Looks like until after everything at Choral Castle is done, Jade won't believe me about my 'future visions'. Looks like I have to wait to tell him about Akzeriuth's fate until then.

"About Choral Castle..." he started, causing me to look up at him. Guess I was wrong about it being the end of the conversation. "I think it's best that you stay here while the rest of us go rescue the chief of maintenance."

I felt all the blood drain from my face. No way, I can't believe I'm hearing this. "...What?"

Jade sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "It's been already decided. You are not going to Choral Castle with us."

I knew it. He really doesn't trust me about this. No... he never trusted me from the beginning, or else he wouldn't have been going through my stuff to find out more about me.

As if reading my thoughts, Jade turned to face me and said, "It has nothing to do with what we just talked about. You're handicapped at the moment, and we all agreed it would be best if you stay here to recuperate."

I let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over my face wearily. Our conversation sure took a lot out of me. "I wanted to go with you. Not just for what we talked about either, but I wanted to at least give Arietta a hard slap around the face for what she did today."

"I'm afraid you'll have much difficulty fighting with just one arm," Jade pointed out. "Now, do you intend to tell everyone about Earth?"

"Who would believe me?" I whined, shaking my head. "No, scratch that. Even if you vouched for me... I dunno... I, I just don't think it's that important. I... don't feel comfortable about it."

"I saw," Jade quipped, though he wasn't smiling. "Understandable. You can tell them at your own time. It's not that important for them to know."

I looked up at him dryly. "...Then what's with all the interrogation just now?"

The brunet just raised his hands up, shrugging. "Oh, I just don't like being kept in the dark about anything, that's all."

I coughed. "Why am I not surprised...?"

"One more thing." He quirked up an eyebrow. "Why haven't you chosen to go home yet?"

I shook my head, sighing. "You talk as if I _know _how to get home, Jade..."

"Ah, I figured," he ruminated, rubbing his chin. "So you stayed with us this entire time as a last attempt?"

Using my free fist, I punched the mattress beneath me as I gave him a glare. Somehow, how he worded his last statement hurt a lot more than I thought.

_"What do you want me to do, Jade?"_ I cried, frustrated tears springing to my eyes. "If you want me to leave, _why don't you just admit it?_ I know you wanted that even more now after what I just told you, right? Don't bother to sugar-coat it! I won't bother you any more-!"

"_Samantha."_ Hearing his stern voice, I forced myself to settle down in order to listen to what he has to say. Jade let out a sigh as he shook his head. "I don't see myself as a shallow enough person to ask you leave the group mainly because of circumstances beyond your control. Do you have enough income for food, clothes, long-terms stay at inns and other necessities you may need?"

I only looked away, not wanting to answer that. He continued, "You also are not familiar with the Fonic Alphabet, nor do you know anyone from this world. Though you could easily find a job and earn money, you still have to find a way back home, correct? Your family would be worried about you. You trying to make your way alone the way you are now would be excruciatingly difficult, no doubt. And though I question your claim that you could see the future and your reasons for telling me that, and I will also not give you any promises, but I will try to see if I am able to assist you in getting back home."

Whipping my head around so I could stare at him incredulous, I saw him smirk. "Don't think I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart however. I'm interested in seeing what your world is like. Helping you find your way back to your world will also satisfy my curiosity. I will also not spoil you: you get what you earn. All you have to do is ask, and I will see if there are any jobs I could make you do that could also allow me to keep an eye on you, less you go and get yourself into trouble." He made a show of rolling his eyes skywards. "Plus, it would be boring to not be able to see your amusing reactions every time we bicker."

I found myself coughing into a fist in a vain attempt to hide my relieved laugh. "...I... I don't know whether call you nice, or... or a sadist, or what... but, uh..." I found myself smiling. "Well, thanks Jade. That... really means a lot."

"Whatever are you talking about?" he asked lightly. "I'm doing this for my own benefit, I assure you."

I held my hands up in a resigned manner. "Okay. Okay. You are a cruel, horrible, _horrible _man who will always be greedy for knowledge." I gave him a smirk of my own. "Your personality sure is a work of art. Um..." I looked away, my hands quickly falling in order to make sure my robe is still fastened tight around myself. "Now, would you _please _leave if you're done here? I don't want anyone walking in and seeing us like this."

"Yes. For now, I'm done," Jade agreed as moved towards the door and opened it. "Thank you for telling the truth, Samantha. _Now_ I don't have to consider killing you anymore, at the very least."

"What?" I gasped, but the sound of the door closing and his muted footsteps were my only response.

And the scary thing? I couldn't even tell if he was joking or serious...

Now that Jade was gone, I allowed my entire self to fall back on the bed, my hands over my face as I let out all the emotions I was feeling into one loud groan.

"You should have told him the entire truth," a voice that I have not heard since that one night back in Kaitzur commented. Not expecting the newer visitor, I jolted in surprise and rolled over to my back to face Shio, who was sitting cross-legged in the opposite bed.

"There's no need to," I insisted, frowning. "Were were you this entire time?"

"Though we did not communicate at all, don't worry; I'm always aware of what you're doing," the lavender-haired female said. There was a look of displeasure on her face. "I stand by my previous statement. Things would have been easier if you had told the entire truth."

"You might think it's okay, but I don't," I groaned, rolling over again so that I was lying flat on my back and staring up at the ceiling. "It's... it's not right."

I heard her sigh. "You're so weak-hearted, you know that?" I couldn't help but smile bitterly at her remark.

"Tell me something I don't know. You know all about me, right? You should know how I feel."

"Yes, I'm quite aware," Shio responded. She then paused. "You were quite the lonely child, weren't you?"

I covered my face with a hand, my bitter smile still on. "Well there you go. Those guys... they're... the first friends I've had in _years_..."

"...Ch'. You're too soft for your own good," Shio muttered. "But do as you wish. As long as you're alive and well, anything else you do doesn't matter, even if I disagree with some of your thought process."

I removed my hand from my face, craning my neck so that I could look at her. When I saw her upside-down visage staring at me, I asked, "Hey... when are you going to tell me the reason why you brought me here?"

"When everything is over, I will then tell you," she responded. "If I tell you now... then you wouldn't get it. Until then, imagine my reasons to what you will."

I snorted, returning to my original position when I felt my neck start to strain. "Fine, fine. But... about Choral Castle..."

"Don't worry," she spoke before I could even finish. "You not being in the main party is actually convenient, believe it or not. We can still make it work."

"Is it _that _important that I absolutely _need _to go to Choral Castle?" I asked, knowing the answer before I even asked but wanting to make absolutely sure anyway.

"Absolutely."

"And you think I can go all the way to Choral Castle and back while fighting monsters with one arm," I guessed dryly.

"Don't worry," she repeated, this time with a knowing tone. "Think of it as training. Also, you won't be alone."

I blinked in confusion. "Huh? Who?"

"Tomorrow. You'll see."

"Don't be so vague!" I grumbled, rolling around once again so I could see her. "Give me a straight ans- oh."

She's gone...

I allowed myself to faceplant right there on the bed. Hopefully, things won't be bad as she implied them to be.

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**Tsundere Oji-san (Soft Meanie in the English version) Jade, anyone? XD If anyone could find out the truth first, it's him. And despite how he may act, he can actually a reasonable person. Hopefully I did him justice here.**

**Anyway, for those who're interested, I have written a short snippet of the Ant Lion Man Sidequest should Luke choose Samantha as his most important person in my deviantart page for those who are interested. Link is below, but without the spaces. Further comments about it is in the comment box there.**

** loy142. deviantart #/d4sajyr**

**Next chapter: On our meeeeeerry way to Choraaaaaaal Caaaaastleeee~!**

**Leaving a review on your way out is _always_ much appreciated.**

**Ciao ciao!**


	18. Onwards to Choral Castle!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss or anything related to it. I am not writing this for profit in any way, but only for fun. The only thing I own in this story are my original characters Sam, Shio, Will and Ophie****.**

* * *

**Onwards to Choral Castle!**

When I woke up the next morning, the party was already gone. It wasn't surprising to me, since I was there when they agreed to leave at the crack of dawn, and it's now around ten in the morning. I've already paid my temporary farewells to them the previous night, so I'm not feeling too put out as I imagined myself to be if I hadn't.

Tear had firmly reminded that I take it easy and take only the necessary (emphasis on '_only the __necessary'_) amount of Apple Gels for my injured arm, Ion and Anise promised that they'll finish the problem ASAP so we could hurry up and be back on our way to Baticul to deliver the letter of peace, and Guy was a bit apologetic about leaving me behind but he also agreed that I needed the time to recuperate.

Luke had been, surprisingly, peeved about it. When I asked him, he claimed that it's only because that it was Jade who had decided it and not me myself.

"Who died that made him decide that he's the leader of us anyway?" he had ranted. "Not that I _care_ what you do, but it _should _be up to you about whether or not you decide to go off and get yourself maimed, right? Why are you letting him decide things for you?"

"Except that would involve slowing you all down and getting in the way, right?" I had pointed out wryly. "Even you would hate that."

Not being able to disagree with that but still not wanting to admit that he's even somewhat wrong, he had grunted and scowled down at me.

Interestingly though... Luke had been lingering around me for a while the previous night, even after our conversation. Now I don't mean to sound egotistical, and I too would believe that it's just purely coincidental if it's just that but... he was acting kind of... weird. He kept shooting me these glances when he thought I wasn't looking, and when I turned to him, he would quickly look away with an expression of both pensiveness and frustration. As if he wanted to say something to me but couldn't.

Other than him probably not wanting me to stay, I had no idea what he could be thinking. But even then, he would be raising verbal hell if he hated it _that _much, so it can't be that, right? I don't think he's the type to be willing to send an injured person off to fight too, so I can't say he's one hundred percent disagreeable about the arrangement either. As much as I had wanted to squeeze it out of him, if he's not willing to say it, then it's best to leave it be, otherwise he would just get angry again. And because of that, there was an awkward sort of air around the both of us for the rest of the night until we retired to bed.

Speaking of awkward, after _that _certain conversation yesterday, Jade and I didn't talk much either. But there _were_ knowing glances shared between the two of us. Though I felt good to finally be able to confess to someone about Earth and got a certain weight off my shoulders, and _because _it's Jade, I still also felt _skeptical._

I didn't like it. I wanted to say something to him, just to break the tension between us whenever we happen to pass each other or happen to be in the same room, but... as much as it frustrated me, there was nothing else to be said yesterday. At least, not in front of someone else but- no...

Rather, maybe it's that... I _couldn't _say it. I didn't have the _right _to say it. Not then, not now. Later, maybe.

_'Please trust me, Jade. I'm not deceiving you with anything more. I** know** that **I** can trust **you** so please believe in me. Help me out.'_

...Definitely... _definitely_ not something I can say so easily, much less at this time. Really, despite some of his... _quirky _personality traits, Jade is a man to be respected, as well as a reliable and strong ally. Having him by side would be so _so _relieving and beneficial but...

_I_ have done nothing to earn _his_ trust yet. Coming clean just gave him a better enlightenment of me, but I don't think he would be willing to be completely trustful of me yet. He would consider what I say, but he would- not including this time since I would get in their way- no doubt not leave me alone and continue to watch me with a wary eye.

That's just sort of person he is.

_Well, that can't be helped, can it?_ I thought with a yawn. I'll just do my usual thing, which is just deal with things as the come. Just worrying about it will stress me out. Best to keep the negative thoughts to the back of my mind if I could help it. I know I think too much, anyway.

So... now that I'm alone, what should I do? I know Shio wanted me to go to Choral Castle but... it's not so simple. There's no way I can travel across dangerous plains alone, especially as I am now. Just what did she expected me to do?

_"You'll see." _So she said the previous day. Gee, thanks for being _soo_ specific, Shio...

So...? Now what? What did she expect me to do?

...Screw it. I'll just see if there are any small jobs for me to help out with. Maybe whatever Shio was talking about yesterday will pop up on its own. And from the way she said it, it _should_ be pretty obvious to me when I see it. Maybe. Eh, lets just go with that for now. My decision made, I pulled strap of my satchel higher over my shoulder and walked down the main pathway at a leisurely pace.

As I walked, I casually observed the engineers and soldiers rushing about this way and that, doing the jobs that were required of them. Some look frantic, clearly displaying their urgency to get whatever they needed to do done, and others some looked grim or just downright depressed- the events of yesterday undoubtedly still fresh in their minds. How many friends or family members did these people lose yesterday? Though everyone's doing their best to move forward and rebuild everything back to what it once was, you could not mistake the lethargy in the air that surrounded Kaitzur. I'm glad that there's the occasional person who managed to look calm and composed as they worked on repairs or give out orders: the ones who are trying to stay strong and do their best, for their own sakes if not for the others.

Maybe I should pick up my intended plan from yesterday. Put on a smile no matter how strained it may be and assure people that things are going to be okay, despite the anger and guilt I felt inside because I know that all of this was indirectly my fault. I know that if I felt depressed, I would want someone to encourage me too. To be that tiny light of hope I can cling to in order to find the strength to push on.

Okay, it's decided. I couldn't do it well yesterday, but I'm definitely going to do it right today. Annnnd... smile ON!

"Excuse me, Sammy, is it?" someone from behind me asked before the engineer that talked to me from yesterday- Will- appeared by my side. Glad that I was able to put a smile on just before his unexpected arrival, I turned and gave him the most pleasant face I could manage.

"Morning," I greeted. "And it's Samantha, actually, but some of my friends just call me Sam or Sammy."

I was surprised to see the confused expression on his face in which, after a blink, was quickly hidden away to be replaced with a smile of his own. It looked kind of hesitant though. What's up with that?

I quickly pushed the thought out of my mine when he started to speak. "Your friends left very early this morning, or so I'm told. I thought you would be with them."

I gestured with my left hand at the cast on my right as we started to walk along the pathway again. "They didn't want me to fight with this, so I'm supposed to stay behind. They'll be back once they're done with dealing with Arietta and saved your head chief though."

"You're 'supposed' to stay behind?" Will repeated, an eyebrow raised. Then, from the look of realization on his face, it's pretty obvious that he knew what I was going to say next.

"I'm going to follow them," I stated with a sly smirk. "I don't want to just sit around and wait for them."

"Y-You can't!" he protested, a look of discomfort on his face. I know I would be panicked too, if an injured person told me they're going to go somewhere dangerous. "You're going to make it worse!"

"I'm going," I repeated, making sure to add a note of finality to my voice when I did, so he won't fight me about it any longer. "There's something I want to do, anyway. I can't do that staying here."

As I looked straight ahead, I could see Will placing a hand over the lower half of his face out of the corner of my eye. I could almost feel the waves of indecision and alarm radiating off of him. I feel bad with having to dump my reckless plan onto him, but it came out before I had the chance to consider if it was a good idea to tell him or not. Well, it's too late now: he already knows.

"I really don't like what you're gonna do..." he said in a defeated tone, his shoulders sagging a bit. Despite his weak complaint, I knew that he'd already decided to give up on trying to persuade me otherwise. "B-But... I don't have the right to tell you what to do, do I?"

"Sorry," was all I could say. Seeing the end of this particular topic, I quickly grasped it and moved it away in order to make room for a new one. Forcing cheerfulness into my voice, with the intention of continuing on with my earlier plan, I remarked, "Anyway, everyone here in Kaitzur? I think they're doing a great job with everything. I have no doubt everything will get rebuilt soon."

When he dropped his hand back down by his side, I saw that the strained smile from earlier had returned. Will stared straight ahead, a distant look in his eyes. "Hm, I really hope so too."

Annnnd... uncomfortable silence.

Maybe being cheerful a day after the destruction was a bad idea? Maybe I'm coming off as uncaring? Oh, wait, crap. Maybe he had some friends killed yesterday, so he's still not over it? If so, then acting cheerful is the least best thing to do. Should I ask? No... I'm not comfortable, and I'm not sure if the memory will hurt him more.

As I continued to fret within my own mind, Will was the one who broke the moment of awkward pause between us.

"I wonder... why did one of the God-Generals attack this place?" he wondered.

Oh crap.

"Did the people here in Kaitzur do something wrong? I mean, last time I checked, everyone's faithfully following the Score," he continued, a look of deep concentration on his face. "I... I don't get it. The God-Generals needed to get permission or get an order before doing something like this, right? Whether it's one of the idea or the other, it's very-" he paused briefly as he searched for the right word to describe his feelings, "-unnerving, I guess."

"Kaitzur- you guys- you did nothing wrong!" I insisted hotly, stopping in place to turn to him and causing Will to look at me with wide-eyed shock. If Will had these kind of thoughts, then who else were thinking that same way? How could he think that Arietta's thoughtless actions were somehow _his fault?_

"But-"

"Did you hear what Arietta said yesterday before she fled with her monsters?" I crossed my arms, feeling my brows knitted together. "She said that Asch was the one who told her to do it."

"Asch the Bloody?"

_Duh. _"Yeah," I responded instead. I then waved a hand in a random gesture. "They're acting on their own. They have no orders whatsoever to do this. Which is why Ion- the Fon Master- is on his way to stop her now, along with Van." Seeing his look, I asked, "Remember seeing a tall guy yesterday? Good fighter, tanned, long hair tied back with a beard that's a grayish-brown color?" He nodded. "That's Van; he's the Commandant of the Oracle Knights. And he's ticked that Arietta did it too. She'll be punished once they arrest her since she did an unauthorized attack."

Will was still staring at me with that wide-eyed look so I quickly looked away, just then realizing how indignant I had sounded as I spoke. I didn't know why I got ticked suddenly, and the words just rushed out. I placed a hand over my mouth, feeling my face heat up slightly in embarrassment.

"Sorry... didn't mean to... raise my voice like that," I muttered from behind my hand, sighing.

"You..." Will hesitated, then continued with what he was going to say. "You sure are confident. Did you figure all that out on your own?"

I definitely may have talked about something I wasn't supposed to. Ion would want anything problems within the Church of Lorelei to be kept a secret. I know he intended not to make the public worry, but keeping them in the dark like this- especially when the God-Generals are seemingly operating on their own in the open- would make them worry even _more, _I think.

"Yeah, I did," I lied. "I mean, it kinda makes sense that way, doesn't it?"

"It's confusing," he admitted. "Attacking for seemingly no reason like that out of the blue and kidnapping the Chief. Most of us were wondering about it." He confirmed worries with that statement. "Also, the Fon Master and the Oracle Knight Commander, they're both here at the same time. I wonder what they're doing here."

"I dunno," I lied once again, shrugging. Will gave me another confused look.

"But... weren't you traveling with them?" he questioned, his eyebrows raised.

"I just got dragged into the group during one part of their way here," I said, speaking the half-truth. "I um... got mugged by a thief and was forced to hand over everything I have. Once he let his guard down when I handed over my stuff, I turned and ran as fast as I could. That's when I, somehow amazingly, came across the Fon Master, who took pity on me and wanted to bring me along for some reason." I shrugged. "I guess they have some kind of business to attend to. I don't know. I thought it'd be rude to ask."

"Oh." He now seemed content with the explanation given. "I'm sorry to hear that. I see... that is how it is for you."

I shook my head, dismissing it with a wave. If Will had any more questions about what had recently happened, he did not voice them aloud, choosing instead to look thoughtfully over at some of his co-workers.

"Just so you know," I started, not fully sure if what I'm about to say is the right thing to do but wanting to get it out anyway, "it's not really anyone's fault here, like I said. Tell that to the others who are wondering about it like you were." I hesitated, not sure if this is something I should say to a stranger, but pressed on. "If... if they... you know... think it's somehow their fault their friends were killed, then tell them it isn't, and then what I told you. It's not anyone's fault here."

By how quickly he had turned to face me at that, and from the _look_ on his face, I _knew _that I had more or less hit the nail on the head. I quickly clamped a hand over my mouth again.

_Oh God..._

I definitely... _definitely _said too much this time. How can I say such carelessly personal things so easily, especially to someone I just met yesterday? I must be _crazy_. Am I _this _shamelessly loose-lipped?

I said too much. I really did say too much, and now I want to be _away; _away from the look that too clearly reminded me of my blabbering just now. It's not whether what I said was right or wrong, but it's the _audacity _of how easily I said those things was what scared me.

"I said too much," I managed to force out my lips quickly, taking a step back. "_S'cuse me_!" Then, with a hot face, I whirled around and ran; ignoring everything else except the pathway.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid! _What the hell is wrong with me?

I had no idea where I'm running. I just ran mostly down a straight line, but occasionally made a few turns so I could lose myself in between the buildings by the off-chance I'm being followed. Even if I'm not, I wanted to be as far away as I could. I made another sharp corner and continued to run.

I knew I had embarrassed myself _again _when I had crashed full-speed straight right into another body hard enough to knock us both to the ground, as well as make us drop our bags in the process and send their contents scattering across the ground.

Screwing and embarrassing myself twice in less than an hour... can this day get any worse?

"_Shit!_" the woman I knocked into swore angrily as I reached a hand up to my head, feeling dizzy from the impact. "_Bitch! _What's up with you?"

"I'm sorry!" I cried out quickly, panicked that I may have pissed her off to make he want to launch into a loud conniption fit. "I-I was- I'm sorry- I wasn't looking and I was... I'm just, I'm sorry!"

Picking up my satchel, I quickly started putting my stuff back into my bag, all the while with the fear that I may take a gel that's not mine. The woman I crashed into had also been carrying several gels of her own, since there's a whole bunch of them lying about, and I was _quite sure _that I wasn't carrying as much as the amount of gels in total that I could see in front of me. Despite the blind rush to gather everything back, I trusted my memory: grateful that I had taken an inventory of what I'm carrying just last night for having nothing else to do before being tired enough to go to bed.

The person I knocked into didn't say anything else after that, too busy with gathering her own stuff and storing them away in her bag. I relished in the silence as we continued to put everything away before the woman possibly decides to herself that its worth to continue her berating of me.

After I have recovered all my possessions and zipped my satchel back up- another stupid point for me, I forgot to do so upon leaving my room this morning- I turned my head upwards to see the woman looking at me with a strange look on her face as well as, to my puzzlement, surprise. When she saw me staring, she blinked and the look of annoyance was back on her face.

"And just where the heck are you running to that warrants not looking straight ahead?" she accused, still glaring as I slowly stood up.

"I'm sorry," I said once again, looking over my shoulder when I did so. I was relieved that Will hadn't followed, and the only ones around the block I'm at were just engineers rushing about. Other than a passing glance or two, we were ignored for the most part as people continued to do whatever they were planning to do: having no time to stare at two women who had just bumped into each other. Okay, that's good. I think I would want to crawl underneath a rock even more if people were staring.

My attention was brought back to the woman when I heard her give out short but sharp sigh, giving me a look that might have been pity, her hands on her hips.

"Can't believe you're like this..." she muttered. And though she was looking at me, it felt like she was talking more to herself somehow.

Okay, now she is getting a little weird.

I decided to voice my confusions out aloud. "Um... what? Wh- I'm sorry, what?"

Her eyebrows flew up in what might have been considered surprised. Once again, I was confused at her choice of emotions. What did she have to be surprised about?

"You're a mercenary, aren't you?" she pointed asked. When she saw the look on my face, she rolled her eyes. "Your license, girl. I saw it on the ground before you picked it back up." She then gave me a pointed look. "...Even with that though... I find it hard to believe a meek tiny little waif like you is one."

...Oh. Well that explained her reactions from earlier.

"Then again," she continued, again seemingly more to herself than to me. "Anyone can get a mercenary license if they're at the right place at the right time, and if their receptionist is a lazy tard."

I was immediately reminded of that grumpy receptionist woman from Saint Binah, the person who handed me my mercenary license with little complaint despite her initial suspicion. What was her name...? Come to think of it... it _was _a little too easy, wasn't it...? I thought that I needed to do more paperwork or something if I could land the job of being an official mercenary.

"Oh yeah," the woman replied, as if hearing my thoughts. "You have _no_ idea how many apathetic people that are doing the deskwork in guilds there are. You look new, so I'll give you some advice as your senior: those bastards don't care who sign up for the jobs as long as those people bring money to the guild, never mind if they could get in danger and risk being killed. They see aspiring mercenaries as bag of gald, not people. The whole legal age thing is just there to keep the local officials of their back."

She gave me another pointed look. "You? I'm suggesting you hand over your license back and get a new kind of job. Don't get in over your head with this. You're not automatically a fighter just because you have one shiny card."

She... this woman... who the heck is she? That was when I looked at her, I mean _really _look at her this time.

She was a tall woman, this I noticed immediately. She easily towered over me by seven inches or, being almost as tall as Guy, if she isn't already is. There were many other things I noticed about her at once, such as her well sculptured body: a slender and curvy build, but still possessing muscles along her arms and overall looking fit. The reason for her muscles I decided, with shock, is because of the giant **_BIG-ASS _**sword strapped to her back. She had a goddamn _buster sword_, it being as tall as her with a wide width, and looking as heavy and sharp as it probably is. I knew immediately that this woman can deal some killer damage to her enemies, if I ever get the chance to actually see her in action.

The other thing I noticed is her actual appearance apart from her build as well as her attire. She has short layered black hair that seemed to jut out at the tips and sharp features on her face. Her eyes were of a reddish-violet color, and she had little make-up on: more specifically, light-pink lipstick and mascara. On her left ear, she had a long earring that reached all the way to her shoulder, with its thin rope decorated with colored bead, then a golden star and finally a light-blue feather at its tip. She had on dark-grey pants and a brown risqué sleeveless top that, not only exposes much of her waist, but also has a very low neckline that shows off her assets that were big enough to give Tear a run for her money, separated by a small golden hammer that hung off a string as a necklace. And finally, to top it all off, black battle boots, as well as dark-grey gloves held in place by brown belts across her lower arms.

I don't know what to say as a response to her statements at first, but the words then came to me.

"I'm not... I'm fine," I insisted, shaking my head. "I really needed the money, so..." I trailed off, biting my lip. "I'm not going to revoke my license just yet. Especially not because someone told me to."

I braced myself for the anger to appear on the woman's face, half-ready to run if I need to. ...Hey, you try being heedless of the possibility of ticking off a woman with a giant heavy sword while standing right in front of them. Trust me, it's more threatening-looking a scenario than I'm probably making it sound.

Fortunately, she was not quick to anger as she unintentionally made herself to appear to be when I ran into her, however, the disagreement in her frown showed how little she likes my answer.

"Work behind a cash register in a shop. Babysit someone's kid. Serve as a waitress. There are other jobs out there that doesn't risk you getting killed," she pointed out. "Really, kid, who are you fooling?"

I shook my head again, turning away slightly so that I could walk away at the next best opportunity I could grasp to end the conversation and dismiss myself without seeming too rude. As much as she has a point, if I choose to do a long-term job in a city somewhere, I won't be able to find a way home faster. Once again, I'm not sure if traveling with the party can actually help me find a way one-hundred percent, but with all their traveling around and the fact that I'm fully aware that I could trust them than anyone else in Auldrant at the moment... I could at least hope that I could find _something_: a clue or a hint of what to do or where to go. It's a weak plan, but at least it's a plan that I can lie back on for the time being.

And also... though I know it's a cowardly reason to do so, at least with them, I have a sense of _predictability._ I don't think that I can stay alone in this world with nothing or no one to turn to, and having no idea what will come next in my daily life should I choose to break away from the party.

No way... I don't want to lose that predictability of my near future here yet. With that said, at least with the job of a freelancing mercenary, I can take any jobs on the side of whatever city we'll be in at the time.

"Believe me, I have my reasons," was all I said to her, feeling ire at trying to being told what to do despite her good intentions, especially since it's not her place at all to do so. Not wanting to talk anymore, I tilted my head in a small farewell gesture and started to walk away. I didn't even take four steps before she called out to me again.

"Wait wait, wait just a moment!" Unable to keep myself from stopping, I sighed as I turned back around to face her again and waited for what she has to say. "I know you."

...Wait, _what? _I stared at her in incomprehension. There's _no way _she could know me, after all, I know where I came from. I don't think she means in passing as well, because I would have noticed a woman with a sword as big as her.

"I don't know you though," I replied, making sure to make myself sound apologetic when all I want is to walk away and find a way to Choral Castle. I really don't want to talk right now. "Sorry, you got the wrong person. I think you just mixed me up with someone else."

She narrowed her eyes and stared me down from where she stood, almost making me fidget in my own spot. Finally, after what seemed to be a tense minute, she let out an irritated sigh.

"Ophelia Reed. Ophie for short." At my blank stare, the woman rolled her eyes. "That name ring a bell?"

"No," I answered automatically. "That's your name, right?"

"Good morning sleepyhead." I felt a brow twitch at her response, before giving her a curt nod and turning around while giving her a wave over my shoulder. "Now hold on!"

Oh, what _now?_

Bottling down my frustration, I turned back around once again and forced on a nice smile. Thinking she wanted my name in case it sounded familiar to her, I introduced myself. "Sam. Samantha Loy. Does that sound familiar to you?"

Ophie frowned in what seemed to be distaste when she heard my name, shaking her head.

"Samantha, really? What a bland name," she remarked, nearly causing me to glare. "Mm, I'll just call you Rookie for now."

"Charmed," I couldn't help but say dryly, my fake smile straining to stay plastered on my face. "_So_ sorry to hear that." I then sighed, my patience for the conversation now spent. "Anyway, excuse me. I need to get going."

Ophie raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, aren't you in a rush! Well, that's fine I guess. I need to get going too. I have a person to hunt down."

Despite myself, my curiosity was piqued as I turned to face her again. "Huh? Why?" I then mentally kicked myself, knowing that there's no way she's actually going to answer that.

Ophie proved me wrong however, because instead of brushing it off like I expected, she just grinned in an almost feral way. "Revenge. You're around just yesterday for Arietta the Wild's attack, right? Well, one of her_ pets _thought it would be funny to slam into me from behind into a building that knocked me out for the rest of the day." She's scowling now, her face darkening. "Probably that was when they were forced to retreat I guess, otherwise I wouldn't be here. Just woke up this morning. That's one of the biggest insult ever, you know that? Knocking me out but then not killing me. _I'M PISSED!_" she had shouted that last part out, making me and some other passerbys jump.

"You know... I would be glad that I'm still alive," I commented, my brows knitted together. Seriously, who would be angry at the fact that they weren't killed while unconscious? "Anyway, the Fon Master and his group are already going after her to be punished. You don't have to worry about her."

A strange look seemed to pass across her eyes before it disappeared as quickly as it came, and then Ophie was staring down at me with an unreadable expression on her face. "..._What_." Her tone was flat, a hint of incredulity underlying it.

Believing that I was clear on what I just said, as well as the fact that it was clearly not toned to be a question, I could only blink and dumbly repeat what she just said. "...What?"

Whether she decided to ignore me, or just didn't hear me, I couldn't tell. However, she now looked even more ticked than before. "Oh _hell no!_" she exclaimed, for some reason also having a note of finality in her voice as glared at a random patch of wall of the building next to us. "Oh, _oh_, that's it! Now I'm definitely going there! Like _hell _I'm gonna those idiots of the Church-" I winced here, aware of the shocked stares being directed our way by some of the people nearby, " -let her get her get away with nothing but a slap on the wrist for her actions! They can't-!"

All too aware of the shocked looks slowly turning into glares the more she went on, I quickly reached out to grab Ophie by the wrist and gave it a hard yank to get her to stop talking.

"Hey," I hissed in a whisper as she turned to look at me with a glare of her own. I tried not to flinch away. "Quiet! You... you're ticking people off!"

She sniffed in disdain, but simmered down nonetheless. Letting out a relieved breath, I let go of her wrist and took a step back. When Ophie spoke again, her voice was quieter than before, but her anger still showed through her words. Then I just noticed how she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

"Rookie, tell me. If the Fon Master and his group of blind sheep _does _catch Arietta the Wild, what do you think her punishment will be?"

I blinked, because I really didn't expect that kind of question. "Uh... I dunno. I never thought about it." Taking Ion's personality into account, I mumbled, "Maybe... maybe she'll be contained for a certain period of time? Demotion? I really don't know."

"_Pfft!_" Ophie openly scoffed, but not at me. "I thought so. Compared to the people died yesterday, that's too merciful a punishment for a murderer. All the more reason for me to hunt her down and deal with her myself before the Fon Master does." She then nodded to herself. "Right, I've decided. Come on, we're going."

I gaped at her, surprised. "_Huh?"_

"You. Me. Choral Castle," she stated, as if it should be obvious. Her gaze flickered down to my right arm. "That's from yesterday, right? If I'm right- and my gut feeling says 'yes', and it's _always _right thus far- anyway, if I'm right, you would want revenge too. See? Mutual benefit." She waved a careless hand as she started to walk away. "Don't just _stand _there Rookie, break a leg!"

_You've GOT to be kidding me. This can't really be happening, can it? Don't tell me this is what Shio was talking about yesterday!_

"Well?" she called back, crossing her arms and even tapping a foot on the ground in an impatient manner.

"Wait, wait wait..." I held my hands up, shaking my head. This is all too sudden. "Um, we're not... I don't think- um... I..."

"Rookie, if you're going to even mention that you're injured, I'm going to seriously kick your ass," Ophie stated plaintively. "Suck it _up_ if you want to think you have the right to be a mercenary. I know a woman who has one arm and one eye cut off, and she kicks more ass than some of the men I saw. You still have two legs, an arm, and the ability to headbutt to still fight with, don't you? I don't care if you have to bite something to death if you have to, if you can still do something instead of being totally helpless, then _do_ it."

Should I find it amusing that she's only supporting my title as mercenary when she wants to make a point that benefits her, when earlier she was so vehemently against it?

Still, as simple as it may seem, and I must be absolutely insane to think so, but Ophie _may _have a point. I think. I still needed to get to Choral Castle somehow, and why not go there with someone who seem to know what she's doing? On the bright side of things, maybe I can get some dagger-throwing and kick practice in. And, if it calls for it- and though it may be harder than it sounds but I'm still willing to try- maybe I can copy some wrestling moves I saw from TV so I can defend myself against humans later without having to kill them.

And hey, if Jade or the others asked, I can just say that Ophie forced me to go with her, which is kind of true. At least it won't seem like I'm stalking them or anything... even though I'm kinda am, I guess... darnit.

Sighing in defeat, I nodded. Still, not wanting to seem as eager, I ask, "You're going to drag me along even if I say 'no', aren't you?"

Ophie's pleased impish grin was more than enough of an answer for me as she pulled out a folded map from one of her pants pocket.

"Good girl. Now, where on this map is Choral Castle located?"

* * *

Choral Castle was located on the edge of a hill overlooking the ocean on the far east of the South Rugnika Plains. Ophie and I walked down the path that lead from the Kaitzur Naval port to Kaitzur, traveled the road halfway, before turning right- intentionally straying off the path, or not, considering the path to the castle had long since faded with age and disuse- and then moving on to the east towards the hills in the distance, where there should be a small wedge in between them that would lead to the old private estate.

The first five hours of our trek to Choral Castle was uneventful thus far, save for the occasional argument between Ophie and I as well as monsters attacking. Chirpees, garudas and oversized crabs that reach up to my upper legs were our main opponents for most of the duration of our travel.

Never mind the bird monsters and their ability to fly, those crab monsters were the most annoying in my opinion, because their shells work as their own personal armors, so the blade of my daggers would just graze off of them. Attacking their faces has proven to be just as tricky, because they have their huge claws that they can use to snap at us with in a pincer attack. Having those things clamp across your legs or torso is no fun, trust me on that.

However, they were no problem with Ophie, whose giant blade can amazingly pierce through the hard shells, or flip them over onto their backs (they're completely vulnerable when in this position: their shells to heavy for them to overturn) for me to finish off before hurrying on to her next target. Like I had assumed, she's a beast in battle: swinging and lifting and bringing down her giant buster sword as if it weighed almost nothing. Those muscles of hers were rightfully earned. To my embarrassment, in our first battle together, I was standing in shock at how she handled her weapon with seemingly effortless ease, especially when she cleaved a giant crab clean into half. I did not snap out of it until she yelled at me to join into the fray.

Despite Ophie's still vague reason (is her believing that I wanted revenge the only reason she's bringing me along, or is there more to it than that, I wonder) for wanting to bring me along, that did not save me from having to witness her sigh or roll her eyes or shake her head in frustration whenever I have to rely on her help.

I wanted to think that I wasn't as bad as Ophie acted I am. Up until we reached the Kaitzur Naval Port when Arietta attacked it, I trained every single time we had to stop for a break and set up camp. Tear, in most particular, would insist on training me enough to I don't get killed in battle if and when I left the group. She gave me instructions on how to fight better with my daggers, hone my instincts to be sharper, how to get a good shot at flying enemies by throwing my daggers at them, hand-to-hand combat, better footwork, etcetera etcetera. She was strict and firm in her lessons, but also still patient with me: something I am very much glad for. Every once in a while, if he's bored enough or if Guy's busy, Luke would pitch in to- intentionally or not- help by asking (read: demanding) to spar with me. Compared to my first few fights on our way to Saint Binah, I like to think I've improved at least a little since then. But still, no matter how you look at it, it's still just a little over two weeks worth of training since then. Even Luke has more experience in the art of swordfighting than that.

From Ophie's reactions however, I'm not sure whether I'm still bad at fighting, or it was clear that my combat abilities were hindered somewhat because of my injured arm, and I have to fight with just my left arm. And really, due to the enemies we're facing so far, it's not like punching or kicking killer birds and oversized crabs will actually hit (regarding the birds) or deal much damage (regarding the crabs), and I think Ophie should realize that as well, so it's a little unfair to expect much of me. Despite what I thought about her opinions on me, I'm a little frustrated at myself as well. If I had both of my arms available, then I know I wouldn't have as much as trouble as I'm having now.

In one of our arguments, I burst out shouting "Fine, screw it! I'll fight with my injured arm then!" only for her to call me a masochistic idiot and not to make it worse and deal with having to fight without my dominant arm. I was even more frustrated at hearing that. She saw that I'm injured, and she _knows _that I'm inexperienced compared to her (the fact that she calls me Rookie and openly claimed earlier that I'll be no good as a mercenary is proof of that), so what does she want from me? To experience the art of one-handed fighting right in the spick and span within the first hour of journey, just like that?

Today is just _not _my day. My mood just soured more and more as the time ticked on, and my sudden urge to kill Arietta's pets right in front of her seemed more and more tempting. Including now, as of the moment, I'm already stewing neck-deep in the boiling waters of my own anger.

If a passing person would see me now, they would probably hurry past me. By now, I'm probably radiating a "don't talk to me, or I will fucking kick your nuts out" aura.

I was so pissed that, when I threw my dagger from my left hand and it perfectly caught the underside of a chirpee, I felt nothing when I roughly pulled my weapon out of its body after it fell and slammed a foot down onto it, hearing and feeling tiny bones crunch underneath my foot. Had I been in my normal frame of mood, I would have winced or jumped away while feeling bad, but now? I just don't _fucking_ care.

Unworthy fighter? I'll show that bitch a unworthy fighter.

A little over two weeks of training may not be much, but that doesn't mean I didn't learn anything during that time.

Just let me fucking prove it. Like, _right now._

With my rage fueling the strength of my throw just like the one before it, my dagger was sent flying again, catching a garuda right in the eye as it was about to fly past me in the air above. It squawked in pain, but my second dagger then caught it right in the side of its neck. It was dead before it hit the ground.

Retrieving just one of my two daggers from the corpse, I whirled and locked my gaze onto my next target, which happened to be another garuda flying above. Cowards, the lot of them. Their affinity for flight won't save them, especially when they're the ones that came picking a fight. Its body violently jerked once before falling to the ground, my dagger lodged into its wing. Yanking my remaining dagger from the corpse, I rushed towards the fallen garuda and made a harsh horizontal swipe across its neck. My blade didn't go all the way across like I hopefully expected, but it was still a fatal move. I yanked my bloodied dagger from its neck and gave the body a swift kick as safety precaution, before sighing and getting my other dagger.

"Is that all this time?" I asked when I heard no other sound of combat. The only sounds in the grass field we're occupying was the sound of the wind blowing, and of our own heavy breathing. I felt the rage-filled adrenaline leave me, and I suddenly find myself somewhat tired... and somewhat calmer now.

"Yeah," Ophie confirmed, staring at the oversized crab she just made a shiskabab out of with her buster sword. She pulled her weapon out with a loud noise and turned to me, and then at my latest kill.

Now with my mind clear, I turned to look at it and my other kills as well, before feeling a sick sensation in my stomach. Really, I was glad I didn't eat anything at all yet today, or I was sure I would have puked. I want to do so, especially when I remember the feeling of that chirpee's bones being crushed underneath my foot. The aforementioned foot tingled at the reminder, so I shook it in order to get rid of the feeling.

"Let's move on then," I said with a sigh, wiping my daggers clean on the ground before putting them back into my pockets. "Who knows how much further it is."

"Yeah. The sooner we get there, the better," she agreed, her sword already strapped to her back after cleaning the blood off of it onto the grass as well. "If it's possible, I would also want to get there before the Fon Master does."

As we walked across the grassy plains, I took the brief moment of peace to mull over Ophie's last statement.

Now that I thought about it, she showed quite a lot of hate earlier towards Ion and the group. ...No, well, maybe not Ion and others in particular... but maybe... to the Church of Lorelei as a whole itself? 'The Fon Master and his group of blind sheep'... that's some strong wording to use against them. Considering I'm aware of how the majority of the world's population respects and follows to Church of Lorelei and the Score, Ophie's loud and hate-filled reaction upon hearing the word 'Fon Master' was surprising. The only people I'm well aware that seems to hate the Score- if not the Church itself- was Van and some of the God-Generals, most prominently Largo and Legretta.

But the God-Generals and Ophie were different. Unlike them, Ophie's just a civilian. A civilian with a big-ass sword that fights and kills monsters for a living to earn money, but a civilian nonetheless. I don't think I remember seeing a civilian that's a non-believer thus far. If I was back on Earth, it shouldn't be surprising, atheists were not uncommon. But here, where a majority of the world's population relies on both the Score and the Church of Lorelei, it's surprising and even a little interesting to meet someone like Ophie. If there were more people like Ophie in this world, then I guess Auldrant and Earth were not so different in terms of religion.

With that in mind, I'm suddenly more understanding of the people who glared at us when they heard Ophie's rants. Though I'm not strict on religion, I do believe in God, as I told Jade before. If someone insulted me for believing in him like Ophie did, then I would be pissed too. Still, as long as people don't try to force their beliefs down my throat, I have no problems with what they believe in, and I will not convince them otherwise either. An internet friend back home that's an atheist is proof of that. Heck, never mind that, I totally avoided the topic of religion as a whole, overall. I was never interested in fighting over a controversial topic, never have, and never will.

...I'm now counting my lucky stars that we managed to get out of the Kaitzur Naval Port without a fight from someone, either verbal or physical. I'm _so_ glad that I stopped Ophie mid-rant. If I had let her gone any further, then it would be an ugly mess. Oh, but she's an intimidating woman, so I wouldn't be totally surprised if the reason that no one would want to pick a fight with her even if they want to. Huh.

I suddenly see fingers snapping right in front of my face. Startled, I turned to look up at the taller woman beside me as she withdrew her hand.

"What?" I asked, my eyes trained on her fingers when I noticed something that I didn't see before. Red manicure... how pretty. It's been years since I had my last manicure. Though my household never had a lack of nail polish, I never really got the urge to paint my nails, even though I find them pretty to look at.

"Just wanted to get your attention," she said. "You have one heck of a constipated look on your face, so I just have to snap you out of it. Thinking about something heavy, aren't you?"

Was I that obvious?

"It's too quiet. Talk about something," she requested, giving her head a light toss.

I don't want to talk. I just want to be left in my thoughts. But then again, doing so would just bring my bad mood back to me, so I just sighed in resignation. "Like what?"

"Something. Anything." Ophie's eyes, though they were trained straight ahead for the most part, occasionally would dart around the plains. Despite her seemingly relaxed posture and her want of a conversation, she's still alert. She really does know what she's doing, this woman. I'm glad, considering I'm not doing the same thing. Bah, need to get into the habit of that. I may not always travel with a big party like I am now, so the lack of numbers would prove to be disadvantageous if no one knows what they're doing.

Following her example, I started to be more aware of my surroundings as well as my mouth worked. "I was thinking about how you didn't like- oh, wait, never mind." Crap, maybe telling her about my thoughts is a bad idea. _Come on Sam, you can keep watch while thinking of a good conversation to have as well, you know!_

Too late though, since Ophie got what I was trying to say. "No. I _hate _the Church of Lorelei _and _the blasted Score," she stated, but not angrily. Her words were more than enough to be believed and she knows it. Maybe she had calmed down from the realization that the Fon Master was around to do something she would rather do. "Though it's probably too late, but don't think I mean to offend you."

"Um..." Well, what's the point of hiding it? "I don't... I'm not following the Score."

It's not even worth the time to wonder should I have been born in Auldrant instead of Earth, if I'll be a follower of it like everyone else or not. Besides, if the game goes as according as it would, then the Score would no longer even exist or be read by the time of the Absorption Gate battle with Van.

I saw her eyebrows upturn at the answer, and her face seemed less tense. "Oh? Okay, good. _Don't_," she was quick to advise- rather passionately, might I add- now that she knew I'm not a follower. "It's not worth losing your independence over. Never."

"I don't mind what people think about stuff like that," I said. "Just don't tell me what to do, and I'm good with that person."

She made a sound that might have been a smothered laugh before I felt her patting my head. "Good girl. That's a good answer."

Rolling my eyes, I batted the hand away. Really, why does everything this woman says to me _has_ to sound patronizing?

"Oh, and by the way," she started, "if you keep on training hard, you might be as strong as me one day."

_REALLY?_ Geez, I had _no_ idea about that! I had _no _idea I have to train hard!

...That was sarcasm, in case you can't tell. But really, though I doubt I'll ever be strong enough to lift Ophie's sword, even I knew that constant training is the best way to go for survival.

"I thought you wanted me to quit being a mercenary," I said, my eyebrows raised.

"I do," she replied. "But that doesn't mean I want you to have no means of protecting yourself while traveling around. Who knows when someone would want to pick a fight with you or try to mug you. Just because you haven't killed anyone yet doesn't mean you'll be forced to sooner or later."

I grimaced when memories I would rather not remember rose to the surface of my mind. "...Two... actually," I admitted in such a soft voice, I almost would have thought that she hadn't heard me at all. But somehow, she did.

"What?" Ophie turned to look at me, and I guess it's from the look on my face, but realization then appeared on her face. "...Two? Huh, that's so-" she cut herself off, biting her lip. From her tone of voice, I got the feeling that she wasn't going to say 'horrible', but something along the lines of 'unimpressive'.

We did not talk after that. It wasn't until an hour later when we reached the low set of hills did we see a suddenly visible pathway that started from the natural opening in the mountains we were looking for. The pathway stretched all the way uphill and to the other side of the mountains as far as I could see. I don't know how long it is, but as long as it's visible, it gave us a better sense of direction of which way to go to Choral Castle.

Compared to the road that adjoined with the path between Kaitzur and the Naval Port, this part of the road was used often. Probably because this is the only opening in the South Rugnika Plains that leads to the castle. Despite the number of years that has passed, people have been going and out of Choral Castle often. Why else would just this path of the road be fresh and clear? Van, Dist, and maybe a few other people had uses for it, considering its isolated location. Or maybe travelers went there in search of treasure, or just for the sake of exploring? I was quite sure there was a sidequest in the game where someone took a portrait from that place, and you needed to bring it back in order to open a secret passageway.

I heard Ophie sigh. "When did you say the Fon Master left again?"

"I didn't. But he and the others left at the crack of dawn," I told her, crossing my arms. "They got several hours ahead of us, oh, wait..."

Wouldn't the group need to take a break at some point? If it wasn't because of Luke complaining that his legs hurt, then it would be for Ion, whose frail body and weak stamina sometimes slows us down despite the poor kid's attempts not to. If he seemed to be even a little worn out, then Anise or Tear or even Jade would call for a break. With that in mind, I'm willing to bet that Ophie and I covered more ground the past five to six hours than the group did.

I voiced these thoughts aloud to Ophie, who sighed once more.

"My bad, but I need a break," she said. "I didn't get a proper rest for a while now, and all that fighting wore me out."

I blinked in mild surprise. "Huh? But, um, didn't you slept since yesterday and woke up this morning?"

The look Ophie then gave me is the same that someone would give to an idiot. "I was _unconscious, _Rookie. Not asleep," she pointed out blithely. "They're not the same thing. Being unconscious does not make a person feel well rested, quite the opposite, really."

My mind flashed back to around two weeks ago, back when the Tartarus got attacked. I was knocked unconscious by Asch's Ice Storm fonic arte. When I regained consciousness, I did not feel good at all. I remember feeling fatigued and weary, before pushing myself to fight, run from the Tartarus with the others, fight again, and then offering to do the first watch of the night. By the time I woke Jade up and laid done, I was out like a light. Considering I'm normally a rather light sleeper, and takes me a while to go to sleep, that said a lot.

I nodded to Ophie's request, gesturing to the area. "Okay, so here is good? Should we move so that we have the mountain against our backs?"

Ophie shook her head as she rummaged through her bag, pulling out a clear vial that contained a white liquid inside. "It doesn't matter. We'll just pour a Holy Bottle around the area. I don't trust you to keep watch alone while I sleep."

I felt one of my brows twitch as Ophie went to work applying the Holy Bottle around the space that she thought would be an appropriate enough size for a mini-camp. Really, even the group trusts me better than that! Then again, that's probably because there's a lot of us, and if by chance one of us is tired, someone else well-rested can easily make up for it.

A few minutes later, Ophie had set her weapon and bag down next to her as she lay down on a thin blanket that was procured from said bag, already looking like she's about to clonk out.

"Wake me up in an hour. Except leaving, killing me and dying, do whatever you want until then," she ordered with a yawn.

"An hour?" I asked skeptically. "You sure? I know the Fon Master can't travel too far without a break, so-"

"I want to get to Arietta before he does," she cut me off, waving a hand violently in the air as she does. "I don't want to take my chances. And if what you say is right, there's a chance we could even bypass if not catch up to him."

"You'll be pushing yourself though," I insisted as I took a sat cross-legged on the ground, frowning over at the laying woman. "Really, just take as much rest as you need. We'll get going whenever you get up on your own."

"No way," she insisted stubbornly as she turned to glare at me. Since it looked more woozily dazed instead of something harsh and scary like it was earlier this morning, I met her stare dead on with a neutral one. "Fine. Two. Happy?"

"I have no obligations to do what you're telling me to." Placing an elbow on a leg, I leaned my face against the palm of my good hand, smiling wryly. Then, using her tone and language, I added, "Especially if it'll be a pain in the ass for me if you keeled over on me."

Ophie let out a breath that might have been a snort. I couldn't tell. "Cheeky bitch," she muttered loud enough for me to hear.

I gave her a sweet smile in response. Amazing how daring I am with my words with her while she's in a state like that when earlier I would have never even thought about saying it in fear to pissing her off. "Thick-headed child. Go to sleep." It's funny, really, that I'm calling someone older and more experienced than I am a child. But to be fair, she's kinda acting like one in my opinion.

Making a show of rolling her eyes at me, Ophie turned so that her back's facing me. But clearly not wanting me to have the last word, she threw out a "Wake me up if anything unexpected happens" before adjusting herself to a more comfortable position on her blanket. A minute had not even passed when I heard her breathing slow down, informing me that she had fallen asleep.

I let out a heavy sigh, stretching my legs out and turning over so I could lay on my left, my head cradled by my good arm. I enjoyed the break as much as I could, considering how out in the open we were and being in the company of a stranger.

Dear God... what am I doing? My reasoning earlier this morning was mainly because I wanted to get to Choral Castle and Ophie seemed to be a good backup to bring along, but now that I have time to rest and not feel tense at the possibility of a monster attack, I'm starting to wonder if my decision was wise. Every rational part of me told me it's not. For all I know, Ophie could be the backstabbing type or a dishonest rogue, waiting for a moment to knock me out and steal everything I have on me. As I mull over these thoughts of mine, I felt myself grow more and more tense as the seconds pass.

Really, I must be insane. Being in this situation, I'm once again reminded of the reason why I wanted to stay with the party and go wherever they go. At least I know they're reliable and trustworthy people. I don't have the same kind of privilege when it comes to anyone else however, and that's what unsettles me.

Well, it's too late now. I'll just have to be careful around her and avoid sleeping on her watch. Once I'm finished with my business at Choral Castle, I'll break things off with her and... and... run all the way back to the Kaitzur Naval Port, I guess. No, that's dangerous. As much as I don't want to, my safest bet is to rejoin the group there. Ophie has already proven that she could take care of herself, so I have no reason to feel worry or bad.

...Or am I wrong with my way of thinking? I mean, if Ophie's what Shio was implying about yesterday, then doesn't that mean she's okay to be with? I mean, Shio wouldn't intentionally put me in a life-threatening situation, right? Which would then beg the next question: how much can I trust the word of my 'guardian angel'? Being the person who knows completely everything about me and my situation even more than Jade, I _wanted _to believe in her. She's the closest link I have to Earth I know.

I hate this. I hate having to mull over thoughts like this, but if I don't, then I'll just screw myself over, won't I?

I shook my head to myself. No... no... maybe I'm wrong to even think about distrusting Shio. If she wanted me dead, all she would have to do is not show up in front of me, and I'll be none the wiser. If she wanted me dead, then wouldn't she have killed me herself a long time ago? That person can teleport for crying out loud. It won't be hard to _whoosh_ into my room while I'm asleep or in the shower, stab me in a vital area, and _whoosh_ herself back out. It'll be over in less than fifteen seconds.

Yeah, that's right. I'm right in believing that, right? I felt a little better at that thought. Shio had no reason to delay my death if she wanted it. I'm alive now, so that means she was honest when she said she wanted to help me. And since I could trust Shio, that means I could trust Ophie, right?

I was breathing a little more easier now when I reached to that conclusion and I sighed in relief to myself. I then jolted when I heard a loud _CLUNK _coming from somewhere behind me. My heart hammering, I sat up and whirled about, my eyes searching frantically and my dagger clutched tightly in my left hand.

There were no monsters or grinning bandits that I had expected to enter my field my vision. Nothing in our little 'camp' seemed out of place at all, save for one thing. There on the ground not three feet away from me was a silver box decorated with bright blue lines all over, tied with a lavender ribbon and attached to a dark-blue parachute.

...Okay, what the hell?

I craned my head up towards the sky to look for whatever it was that dropped the package, but nothing was there. I looked back down at it, before reaching out to grab the parachute by its strings and pulled it along with the box over to me. I turned back to see if Ophie was awake, but she's still in a slumber.

Directing my attention back to the package on my lap, I removed the parachute and undid the ribbon, setting them down on the ground next to me. I popped open the lid of the box and set it down next to me as well. What greeted me first was a written document: a letter written in English. I picked it up to stare at the delicate print written in cursive on the white paper before actually reading it.

_It was difficult trying to obtain the money for these items, so do consider not relying on me for extra provisions. As such, I will only send you the necessities I consider to be essential for your survival during certain times I see fit so as not to bring down any suspicions upon you, so do not expect any luxury goods should you expect something from me either. See my deliveries as 'emergency reliefs', if you want to refer to them that way. Be more careful next time, Samantha Loy. Even I can only go so far to protect you from death._

_Burn this paper when you are finished reading it and get rid of the box along with its parachute. I doubt you would want that Malkuth soldier to be aware of me should he decide to go through your belongings again._

_~Shio_

Straight to the point, formal, and no personal sentiments whatsoever despite the large amount of space remaining on the paper. Why is it so... fitting of her? I can imagine her staring at me through the letter with a bored look on her face as usual.

I re-read the letter again, absorbing its contents more properly into my memory before I have to get rid of it. Strange... she didn't mention Ophie. Is that a good or a bad thing? More interestingly, what did Shio just sent me?

Tearing off the empty part of the paper (I might need the paper for later) and crumpling the written letter in my hand with a mental note to start a campfire later to burn it along with the box and its attachment, I started to bring out one object after another.

The first thing I pulled out first was surprising to me. A blue package covered in print- using the Fonic Alphabet, of course- as well as a tiny picture in its bottom corner. Though I could understand little of what was written, the picture itself was very familiar to me. Unsurprising, since the object in my hand is probably as universal as pens and paper.

I couldn't help but smile as I pulled a sticky note- another written message from Shio- as I quickly stuffed the package of pads into my satchel. It's one of the things that I'm definitely, definitely happy and relieved to have. And I was so worried I have to get my own or suck it up and ask one of the girls for one. I was surprised that Shio sent this though, because doesn't this count as a luxury item?

Ah, but then again... Shio _is _a female too, so I guess she understands how necessary these are for women.

The message written in the tiny sticky note was as to-the-point and impersonal as the main letter. And my surprise and thought about her was completely blown out of the water by the explanation she provided.

_Though I do not consider this item to be 'life-saving' in the literal sense, and I believe that this is something you should get on your own, I decided to send it anyway on the account that some monsters have a strong sense of smell. Blood is one scent that could invite them to attack should you have it on your person, hence why I made sure this is the scented kind out of all the varieties available for sale in order to hide it._

_...Seriously? _As if the cramps and the moodswings and the cravings and whatnot _wasn't _enough to deal with? _Woooon-derful! _Just! W_onderful!_

I resisted the urge to slam my head into the ground, instead choosing to crumple up the sticky note instead. Still, the image of Shio doing something as normal as shopping- going through a shelf of products with a shopping basket hanging off her elbow- amuses me. I don't know who or what Shio is, but I know for a fact that she isn't human. .. Or maybe she is after all... maybe she's just a human who could just teleport and know everything about me- no. No... that's rather hard to believe. She's not some godly deity either, I _think_, or she wouldn't be doing some of the things she had been doing. I dunno... I should try to get her into a conversation later if I could, but that person comes and goes whenever she likes.

Crumpling the sticky note and putting it next to her other letter, my smile came back in full force when I saw the next item in the box as I pulled it out. I read the sticky note that was attached to this item as well.

_A miracle gel can fix your arm better than apple and pineapple gels. Use the entire thing on it, and you'll be guaranteed an instantaneous recovery within a few hours: it's actually a lot more effective than how your game portrays it to be. Considering its well earned name, not only was it rather expensive on the market, because of how strong it is, applying it straight on would be agonizing, so bear with it. You cannot fight efficiently with one arm at your current level, so me sending this to you is necessary this time. I would rather not send another one unless you suffer another fatal wound that could not be cured by either your group healer or your current inventory of gels._

"Ohh God Shio... thank you thank you thank you..." I whispered to the air as I started to take off my casting. Shio may have sent me only just one, but if the very useful gel was actually a lot more effective in real life as Shio made it sound to be, it would be more than enough for me.

Snapping my head around to make sure that yes, Ophie was still asleep, I turned my attention back to my right arm and- urgh... God, I still hate looking at it. Though it has healed only a little since yesterday, it was still a discolored and gory sight ugly enough to make me want to puke. And despite the apple gels I swallowed to dull it, the pain of just moving it is still there. The sooner my arm's fixed, the better. Though I may have to keep the cast on, so I won't make anyone suspicious at how quickly it has healed. I doubt anyone would believe I suddenly have enough money for a miracle gel. Or maybe I can just say I stole one, though that would probably tick some of them- more especially Tear- off. Unless I stole it off a thief that tried to attack me. Huh, I'll have to think more about it later once I'm finished with applying the gel.

Taking out the fresh roll of wrapping bandages and unclogging the cap off the miracle gel, I carefully held it with my right hand and made the sky-blue jelly-like substance inside come out to rest on the palm of my left hand.

After placing the gel base down, I stared between the gel in my hand and my right arm. I took in a deep breath and- bracing myself for the pain that will soon follow- pressed the sky-blue gel right into the heart of my wound, and rubbed it all over while pressing down to let it soak into the wound.

The pain... even though I was prepared, the pain that shot through me from my arm like a lance was unbearable. Gritting my teeth, I pushed on into applying the gel all over my wound until there's not a speck of it left in my hand. Seconds in, and I was already seeing bright stars- it was _that _bad- exploding in front of my vision, and the afternoon sun suddenly seemed bright- too _too _bright- when it was fine just a moment ago. I threw myself onto my stomach and kept up my work, hissing and squirming on the ground and felt myself kick something- probably my bag- with tears stinging in my eyes and me doing my _damndest_ hard to keep my whimpering from being too loud by keeping my teeth gritted. Dear God, the pain the pain the _pain...!_

When I felt that I have pushed the entire gel onto and into the open part of my arm, I allowed myself to drop against the ground with my eyes shut, breathing heavily, and my good arm cradled around my head as a pillow as I tried to get my bearings back and deal with the remaining pain. God, I swear, if there was anything in my stomach, I'm sure that it would be all over the ground by now, no joke.

No more... never again will I get hurt bad enough for a miracle gel. I don't want to use it any more. I'll be more careful, and stop relying on Tear's healing spells and the others.

Shio's advice from all those weeks ago made a lot more sense now. I really _do _need to take more better care of myself, otherwise I'll be forced to rely on her and the others.

I don't know how long I was laid out on the ground as I was. Ten... maybe fifteen minutes? Longer? As the seconds ticked by, it felt like forever as I waited for the pain to subside. Though it did not go away completely, it did lighten up, until I could move again. Feeling dizzy, I slowly sat up and reached backwards to grope for my satchel. Finding the strap, I pulled it over in front of me and reached inside for the fresh roll of wrapping bandage- only to remember a moment later that I've already brought it out. Mentally cursing my slight disorientated state, I turned myself around and grabbed it: wrapping it around my wet arm and tearing it off when I had enough.

Sighing a bit at the bitter sensation of the miracle gel repairing my arm both inside and out, I quickly tied a knot on my cast and rubbed a hand over my face wearily. It's done, thank God...

Remembering that there were a few other stuff in Shio's box, I crawled over to it and started pulling the remaining items out. There was a long metal cylinder that I, after unscrewing the metal cap and taking a look inside, realized it was a water canteen. Awesome, now I don't have to ask someone else for a drink when I get thirsty now that I have my own. At the sight of the sloshing water inside, I suddenly was reminded of not only my thirst, but my hunger as well.

...Crap, I really am _such_ an idiot. How could I forget to pack food and water before leaving? Granted, because of Ophie, we were in a rush, but still! I was so used to someone else carrying the food and cooking supplies since I had my own stuff to carry. Was I expecting Ophie to feed me? I'd rather not.

Though, come to think of it, if the others left me some medicine, why didn't they leave some food behind as well. No, wait, stupid question... there's lots of food in the kitchen back at the Kaitzur Naval Port. Even if we weren't allowed to touch them, there _would _be someone cooking the three daily meals to be served to everyone. Yesterday was just an exception, I guess.

I guess the party not leaving some of our food to me is also their way of ensuring that I stay there instead of following them. Too bad for them that I'm choosing to be stupid today.

Which is why I wasn't surprised but still pleased to see that everything else left in the box were food. Two loaves of bread wrapped in plastic, a small bag of berries, two packets of crackers, a small bag of fruits I'm not familiar with, and two small plastic boxes with one consisting of rice, and the other strips of meat of some kind.

As expected, save for the rice and meat strips if I eat them together, none of these are exactly filling, nor was it a real meal. Still, they are more than enough to keep me going without starving. And if Shio sent me this little, that probably means that we're not far from Choral Castle. Or maybe the whole thing is meant to sustain me until the trip back. I can tell now that Shio's being nothing but absolutely practical about her gifts. She sure knows what I _need_, not want.

It's a shame too, since I have a lot of things I want. More money, some chocolate bars, a new set of clothes or two, maybe some throwing knives so I won't have to keep throwing my daggers, and then some. Still, Shio's still having my back, and she already went to the trouble of sending these all to me, so I shouldn't complain.

I stared down at all the food I laid out in my lap. I wonder if Shio intended for me to eat them now...

...My empty stomach, which chose this moment to growl at the sight of all the food, tells me yes. I'll just eat the rice and the meat strips, and save the rest for later since they last longer. The rice would probably go cold and hard, and I'm not sure what kind of meat this is and whether they're fast-spoiling or not. I'll have to start a fire and burn all the evidence of Shio's deliveries too, later. If by chance Jade or someone else sees these, they'll just assume that I bought them, especially since they're nothing too pricy for me to afford. More brownie points to Shio for that.

But for now... brunch!

* * *

**My apologies, but looks like I was mistaken about the use of Miracle Gels and about the fact that they heal an entire party instead of one. Looks like the site I have used for reference was wrong, and so I'm forced to go back to check the game itself instead. But, oh well, content-wise regarding this chapter, it fortunately doesn't change anything since a Miracle Gel would still be more than strong enough for Sam to completely fix her arm. Still, I apologize for my mistake. *bows***

**Do kindly please leave a review about what you think of the chapter on your way out, and have a nice day!**

**Ciao ciao!**

**Next Chapter; Choral Castle: Opening the Gate.**

* * *

Sneak Peak;

_"You... why are you here? You... you have a lot of audacity to be here. But it doesn't matter, does it? You won't leave this world, so... I'll purge it of your damned existence. Completely... down to the last hair and nail."_


End file.
